What about those gay and lesbian travelers? What do women really want? Is travel a man’s world? Is travel all business, with no play? Aren’t you about ready to break free of the bonds of cliche niches? I am. There’s so much targeted marketing going on out there in hospitality land that we’re surprised more people have not noticed the laser-sighting scanning their prone, suntanned bodies. Look at what this week’s news alone reveals about you as a “niche” rather than YOU, the person.
CNN: What women want: Hotels look to cater to more female business travelers
Not only have we become sexist as marketers, but apparently, journalism and the business of news are right behind. This story shows some leg, but in a business suit tailored to drive you, the lady traveler… Well, you get the idea. But at least the author, Daisy Carrington, alludes to the hoteliers (perhaps) going overboard. Using terms like “fastest growing demographics” does not get you off the hook for actually promoting marketer mumbo jumbo, and I used to worry about pitching CNN with client wares.
Mashable: Marriott Introduces Tech-Friendly Hotels for Travelers
Now there’s the cutting edge from my old friend Pete Cashmore’s cash cow. Since when was Mashable into hospitality? Oh, that’s right, we all branched out, didn’t we? Anyhow, telling people Marriott (or anybody else) wants to appeal to our tech side is a bit like announcing beds for rooms, now isn’t it? Hey, you geeks! Do you really want someone taking aim at you simply because you’re smart and shy? That’s too many questions, I know. Just for another poke, though, Camille Bautista uses a fabulous image of a hotel bed – and a TV – to drive home the stunning revelation Marriott has made a paradigm shift – electricity for guests’ appliances will be next (and probably charged for).
Boston Globe: USA ranks #38 in Gay Travel Index
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the US were to rank number one in something? How about first acknowledging that we are all just people? Oh, those founding fathers tried that, didn’t they?
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
But of course, even the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Globe have changed a bit over the last couple of centuries. Today, thought leaders will give you your inalienable rights with one hand, and gladly pigeonhole you for profit any chance they get. Of course, this is an older reality than even the Declaration of Independence. Still, I imagine people of whatever lifestyle growing weary of being called ….. whatever. It is nice to know the good ole USA ranks right up there in discrimination with Cambodia.
Wall Street Journal: The Experts: How to Plan Retirement Expenses
This one sort of takes the proverbial cake if you are a Baby Boomer like me. This article, full of expertise on how to spend your money and retirement, uses the word “travel” eight times. What bugs me about it is just how cavalier (if expert) these people discuss every detail of YOUR old age. I’m surprised the experts don’t discuss the hearse gas usage for the journey to that final destination here. As it is, the WSJ has gathered college professors and rocket scientists to tell us old folks, in the end:
“It’s Partly a Question of Choice”- Professor Terrance Odean of Cal Berkeley
I know I laid awake all night last night considering cooking my meals rather than eating out to save retirement money! Jesus.
Huff Post: Cougar Cruises Bring Younger Men To Older Women (PHOTOS)
As is usual, the Huffington Post comes up with disgusting and tasteless articles as if they were water flowing off a duck’s back. Okay, it’s not that I want older women or men to lose out or anything, but being put on the front page for hooking up with some beefcake? Well, if the guy in the pictures were actually “beefy”, maybe the story would be better! What makes the HuffPo article even worse is that it’s true-life stuff. Apparently, the “Hunk Hunter” cruises had to be moved to Carnival Cruise Line’s itineraries due to bad press. Now the next five cruises will be on Royal Caribbean ships. Say what?
Next, we’ll have cruises for those with foot fetishes, flights for peeps who want to join the so-called “mile high club”, all blonde bus tours, blue-eyed bike excursions, Eskimo windsurfing stays, and so on. Am I being too critical? Maybe.
Maybe all this targeting will end up aimed at you and me individually. And maybe the old days of just offering a value could come back again. Nowadays, though, everything seems to come via being shoved down our throats and worse still, categorized just to keep us continually segregated from one another. Maybe the sales gods out there like it better that way, blind and stupid constructiveness geared around what someone else SAYS we are. Food for thought, anyway.