Pride and prejudice

Some hotel operators are keen to cash in on the pink pound, but are less keen to publicise the fact. Mark Simmons looks at a sector where prejudice can come before profit “We were treated like scum.” Not words usually associated with the hospitality industry. But for SK (a male planning officer in the West Midlands, who asked not to be identified by name) they reflect the reality of what can happen when two men or women try to check into the same UK hotel room. SK claims that when he and his boyfriend of four years arrived at a country house establishment in Scotland last autumn they were initially well received. “We were joking with the guy checking us in. It was only when we asked for a double bed that the member of staff suddenly got serious and asked us to wait. Then the manager turned up. He held open the front door and said: ‘We’ve no rooms for you here!’ That was all he said. When we asked why not, he got into a fury, picked up one of our bags and practically chucked it out of the door.” This is bizarre behaviour for a business person. Especially when the spending power of gays and lesbians is so large. Leaving aside the domestic market, the 25.5m foreign visitors to the UK last year spent £12.8bn, according to the British Tourist Authority. A conservative estimate is that 10% – nearly £1.3bn – of that came from gays and lesbians. Not all of this was spent on accommodation, but the sum is a good indication of the potential market. Strange, then, that curiously few attempts have been made to tap such a lucrative income stream. Jim Mackay, co-founder of the northern Metz bars and London’s Edge restaurant and club group, turned the spotlight on the sector this summer when he went public with his bid to purchase the Cavendish hotel in London’s St James’s from Granada. Mackay, gay himself, caused a stir when he said that he would be targeting the gay and lesbian market. This was taken by many to mean that the hotel would cater exclusively for homosexuals, a charge Mackay is keen to rebut: “The idea is for an upmarket, design-led, fun hotel – it’s about atmosphere. Sexuality is not the issue.” Yet for many in the industry, it most definitely is. As SK’s story shows, some operators prefer to put prejudice before profit. Exactly how many is hard to determine. Last year gay and lesbian rights organisation Stonewall interviewed 40 gay people. Seventeen said that they had been made to feel unwelcome because of their sexuality when staying in a hotel, seven had been refused a double bed and one had been told in no uncertain terms that gays and lesbians were unwelcome. Establishment rules Stonewall spokesman Mark Watson says things are changing. The old excuse of barring two men from sharing a double bed as illegal, on the technicality that a hotel room was not private, has largely disappeared, he says. Large chains are less likely to object. But, he concedes, “it is smaller family-run hotels where you might find a problem”. Pride of Britain hotels, members of the consortium which links 36 privately owned country house hotels across the UK, get a fair number of calls from gay travellers who mistakenly assume that the name is linked to the gay rights movement. Michael Yeo, Pride of Britain’s chief executive, claims that the hotels are delighted to welcome gays, though he stresses that each establishment decides its own policy. The temptation to use the chance association in Pride’s name as a marketing opportunity to attract gay and lesbian custom is one that Yeo resists – the group does not woo specific sub-markets. “We wouldn’t target the pink pound any more than little green martians,” he explains. From a business perspective this is very odd behaviour. Companies have taken advantage of computer technology to build databases that allow them to target potential customers with a sophistication undreamt of only a few years ago. And they do it with gusto. Yet for some hoteliers, gay and lesbian travellers appear to be off-limits. “None of the main groups is really interested in that niche market,” confirms Colin Hall of Christie & Co. “Maybe 90% of their market is straight – and they are frightened about losing it. There are some grounds to their fears – some people might stop using them and take their business elsewhere.” Some, like Mackay, say this reflects the personal homophobia of those running hotels, rather than the intolerance of their customers, who are increasingly ambivalent about the sexuality of fellow guests. Gay travellers themselves are certainly not campaigning for segregation. “They just want to go where they get treated like any other customer,” says Aaron Kampfle, president of the US-based International Gay and Lesbian Travellers Association. Daryll Bennett, whose London travel company D-Tours caters mainly for gay and lesbian travellers, says that 80% of his clients do not want to be in an exclusively gay hotel. Bennett believes that, in London at least, operators are becoming more open-minded. “We haven’t had any big problems, except with one major hotel chain,” he reports. The appearance of liberal designer hotels in the capital such as The Hempel, The Halkin, One Aldwych and Metropolitan has helped, too. They, and others, like the Malmaison chain, are frequently referred to as gay-friendly, though, interestingly, not necessarily by their owners. Take Malmaison founder Ken McCulloch. “I would never ever say that Mals are gay-friendly – they’re just friendly. I don’t think it’s our business to look at people’s sexuality,” he says. Yet professionals like Chris Rouse, partner at property adviser Knight Frank, notes: “It is interesting that hotels like the Mal have prospered where there is a gay quarter.” One of the few operators which is proud of its gay-friendly image is the Red Carnation Group. The company, which owns the Milestone, Chesterfield, Rubens and Montague hotels in London, is an IGLTA member. David Eck, vice-president, sales and marketing, says the reason is simple: “There’s potential revenue in this niche market. We see it as an opportunity. And we receive the business gratefully.” The BTA also recognises the value of the pink pound. Louise Brice of BTA’s Los Angeles office says: “We target the gay market in the US because a lot of research shows there is a very strong business case.” Around 7.2m gay Americans have a passport. Their average disposable income per household exceeds the national average by 70% and they take on average four to six holidays per year. Leading the way To channel that spending to the UK the BTA arranges three seminars per year in Britain where domestic service providers, including hoteliers, can meet travel operators which serve gay travellers. Christie & Co’s Hall believes that gay-oriented hotels are catching on, albeit in a small way. “A couple of parties we’re dealing with believe they can tap into the US market.” And Mackay has other plans for at least two more hotels in London, apart from the Cavendish. And he is eyeing up the potential of one in Manchester. Other operators tempted to rush into the market should tread cautiously though, reckons Knight Frank’s Rouse: “I’m slightly sceptical about the size of the market, especially midweek and outside London. The effect on the resale value should also be considered.” Hotel deals since April 1999 A number of premium hotels in central London have been sold this spring, including The Westbury Hotel beds * rating month purchaser vendor vendor’s agent price Green Park Hotel, Half Moon Street, W1 163 n/a May London & Regional Mayfair Investment Jones Lang LaSalle £35.5m Westbury Hotel, New Bond Street, W1 245 4 May Cola Holdings (FPDSavills) Chelsfield Group n/a e£70m Butlins Hotel, Princes Square, W2 300 n/a May n/a Muirgold Jones Lang LaSalle £25m Charles Dickens Hotel, Lancaster Gate, W2 188 3 August Ryan Hotels Thistle Hotel Robert Barry £21.5m Leinster House Hotel, W2 65 n/a July Overseas investor Private FPDSavills £5.6m 120 King Street, W8 128 n/a July Capital & Provident NHP Developments FPDSavills £4.5m Academy Hotel, Gower Street, WC1 48 n/a June Eton Town House Group Private. Alan Rivers Christie & Co £5.5m Central Club Hotel, 16-22 Great Russell St, WC1 n/a n/a June Jury’s Doyle Hotel Group Trustees of the YWCA Central Club Chesterton £11.5m subject to 3 leases Bonnington Hotel, Southampton Row, WC1 215 3 June Middle Eastern Royal Family Frame family Jones Lang LaSalle £20m Coopers Row, EC3 240 n/a May Grange Hotels (FPDSavills) Private US investors Giladi & Co e£13m Albert Embankment, SE1 100 n/a June Mr Bhimji (FPDSavills) Private n/a £2.1m 19 Sloane Gardens, SW1 5 n/a May Cadogan Estates Amirstar FPDSavills £1m 42 Draycott Place, SW3 11 n/a May Private Amirstar FPDSavills £1.7m Sloane Hotel Draycott Place, SW3 10 Townhse June Private Private Knight Frank £3.5m Chelsea Hotel, 33-41 Earls Court Sq, SW5 101 n/a July Boldhurst Properties Academy Properties Christie & Co e£6m Collingham Gardens, SW5 26 n/a August Carnarvon Hotels Private FPDSavills £6.25m Roland House, SW7 96 n/a May Crown Dilmun Cola Holdings FPDSavills e£17.5m One Thirty Queensgate, SW7 54 n/a August Pelham Associates Cola Holdings FPDSavills £17m Park International Hotel, Cromwell Road, SW7 117 n/a June Hospitality Lodging South London Plaza Hotels Christie & Co a£12.5m White House Hotel, Albany St, NW1 582 n/a April Sol Melia n/a Jones Lang LaSalle £52m Regents Plaza Hotel, Maida Vale, NW8 221 4 August Swallow Hotels Gainstride Pannell Kerr Forster £36.4m The Southway, Wembley 168 2 May Accor Private FPDSavills e£1m Margaret Cassidy House, Heathrow 50 n/a May SS Property Management Ealing Family Housing Association FPDSavills £2.1m Elstree Inn, Borehamwood, Herts 26 2 May Private Jigs Corporation FPDSavills £1.2m County Hotel, Ware & County Hotel, Portswood, Southampton 116 3 April Management Services International County Hotels Christie & Co a£5.5m Palms Hotel, Southend Arterial Rd, Essex 138 n/a June Spring Park Hotels Hilton International Christie & Co a£10.75m Brambletye Hotel, Forest Row, East Sussex 22 n/a April George Gale & Co Private Robert Barry a£1.19m Old Ship Hotel, King’s Rd, Brighton 152 3 April Paramount Hotels Private Knight Frank £5m Regency Hotel, Bournemouth 53 2 May Park Hotels Shearings Hotels FPDSavills £410,000 Connaught Hotel, Bournemouth 56 3 May WD King Group Private.Mr John Murray Robert Barry a£1.8m Old Park Hotel, St Lawrence, Ventnor, IoW 37 3 n/a Private. Mr & Mrs J Sharp Thornton Hotels Humberts £640,000 Grand Hotel, Bexhill & Foxlands Hotel, Torquay 50/80 3 May Princess Hotels Chasley Hotels Lawrences £935,000 Cricklade Hotel, Golf & Country Club, Wiltshire 46 3 May Stone Manor Hotels Private. CP Smith FPDSavills £4.6m Riverside Hotel, Mill St, Mildenhall, Suffolk 23 3 July Private. Mr & Mrs Keane Private Christie & Co a£1.55m Crosskeys Riverside Hotel, Hilgay, Norfolk 6 3 May Private. Mr & Mrs Flint Private. Mr & Mrs Bulmer Fleurets £250,000 Grange Hotel, Thorpe Rd, Norwich 35 n/a June Private. Mr Highfield Private. Mr Hargreaves Fleurets £495,000 Dunston Hall, Norwich 72 4 April De Vere Hotels Private Pannell Kerr Forster £16.5m The Elms, Abberley, Worcs 16 3 April Private. Mr & Mrs Vaughan Private Robert Barry a£1.75m Beresford Arms Hotel, Station Rd, Ashbourne, Derbyshire 12 2 April Private Private Fleurets £260,000 The Mailbox, Birmingham 180 4 July Arcadian International Birmingham Mailbox Knight Frank e£22m devlpmt cost Brook House Hotel, 662 Preston Rd, Clayton le Woods, Lancs 20 2 July Mr P Greenwood Mr J Lockwood Fleurets £500,000 Smaling at Dovenest, Lake Windermere, Cumbria 10 5 July Private Private Knight Frank e£3.5m Carrbridge Hotel, Carrbridge, Invernesshire. 54 n/a April Private: Colin Watt Shearings Hotels Christie & Co £650,000 Jamaica St, Glasgow 202 n/a May Cuckfield Property Group Gallagher Estates FPDSavills £1.5m e=estimated a=asking price Listed above is a selection of hotel deals completed between April and July 1999. Hotel deals with incomplete information are not included