If ever there were were a need for a niche travel entity, then the launch of world traveler Alan Beck’s Gayosphere.com is certainly it for the gay and lesbian community of travelers. According to the founder, mapping out the most gay-welcoming locations and businesses in the world will end up suggesting the best places on Earth for people to just be themselves.
Gayosphere.com Gay resources page
Just about any travel booking site you can name will have stamped on its venues and destinations “gay friendly”, and so forth. But only erratically, and without exactly characterizing what the term means for the reader or user. Alan Beck or any traveler who is gay or lesbian can attest to how negative improper or even false labeling can be, we are sure. The press release announcing Gayosphere speaks of many key elements of not only gay travel, but online travel booking in general. For one, updating information is something Beck’s startup is focused on, he elaborates:
“Many articles promote ‘gay-friendly’ towns. But I often find that these towns are not at all as represented, so I created my own UNBIASED review site. I have personally visited all the places on our site—every locale, hotel, restaurant, club, bar, shop, spa and attraction. If a place exhibits even the remotest bias, they don’t get included.”
What does this mean for the niche traveler? Gay and lesbian travelers now have a better resource for honest and unbiased gay-friendly reviews of hotels, restaurants, shops, clubs, bars, spas, and so on. Face it, you can read 5000 TripAdvisor reviews without finding 10 that objectively talk about attitudes toward alternative lifestyles.
Then again, just my use of “alternative” reveals a smidgen of misunderstanding, if not biased, even on my part. So you see, niche travel of any kind should only be reliant upon community reviews and information – ergo we have Gayosphere.com.
Gayosphere currently offers reviews and info on places across the US and Canada, and at some other destinations. Alan is reportedly continually tweaking the site, so perhaps your suggestions can help? You can also follow Gayosphere on Facebook here.
Nice job Alan. (Psst… fix the Facebook link man)
For more info on this news please contact:
MSCO
Suzan French, 917-284-8523
sfrench@msco.com
