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 International Gay Hotel Brand Launches
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: March 7, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET
(Zurich) LGBT travelers who for years have
complained there is a wide spectrum of quality among gay hotels may soon find a
sign atop some that attest to high standards.
Attitude Hotels launched this week with the goal
of providing travelers with a way a telling if a hotel is up to snuff.
Founder Pedro Castro, a Portuguese-born lawyer
and travel marketer based in Zurich says the company would not own the hotels
but license its name if the facility met its requirements.
Attitude would inspect the hotels and do annual
follow-ups to assure the standards are being met.
Already some two dozen hotels that market to the
LGBT community have been approved.
So far only two of the hotels are in the US - The
Royal Palms and the Flamingo Inn, both in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. UK
properties include London’s Myhotel Bloomsbury and Legends hotel in Brighton.
Castro said that the Attitude sign would
guarantee the hotel is "the place to stay for discerning gay and lesbian travelers."
He said he expects to increase the number of
hotels to about 100 and the Attitude Web site would allow people to see details
of the properties, their location relative to LGBT neighborhoods, and the chance
to book reservations online.
"In the short term, Attitude Hotels hopes to
increase its selection of hotels, first in France, Italy, Greece and Spain,"
said Castro. "Thereafter, we will concentrate on providing a wider variety
of travel possibilities in North America."
Hotels would be listed as Premium, Comfort, or
Value, depending on price and amenities.
Castro said he came up with the idea for Attitude
after discovering it was difficult to find good LGBT hotels and becoming
disillusioned with the "gay-friendly" approach of many major hotel
chains.
Surveys indicate that in the US alone LGBT
spending power tops $65 billion a year.
©365Gay.com 2008
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