For most people, booking the right hotel stay comes down to a few simple factors: price, location and amenities. “Oh, this one includes free breakfast,” one might say to themselves, and voila,<\/em> it’s booked.<\/p>\n For some communities, it’s not so simple. Until my father started traveling again after having his leg amputated, I never understood how difficult it is for travelers with physical disabilities to simply get into a room that’s functional and safe. It’s been eye-opening.<\/p>\n The LGBTQ+ community is also one that frequently finds it difficult to pick a hotel that meets their specific set of needs, including something as serious as safety or as human as accepting their gender identity and making them feel welcome during check-in. As a gay man, I’ve experienced my own version of this while having to explain that I booked a king-size bed because I’m traveling with my husband<\/a><\/span>. “No,” I’ve insisted, “we don’t need two beds.”<\/p>\n In fact, a new survey from Booking.com<\/a><\/span> revealed that only 31% of LGBTQ+ travelers globally say they are “out” when they travel. Worse yet, 44% of LGBTQ+ travelers also say that they are taking more precautions than they were a few years ago, the survey reported.<\/p>\n But what do you do about it? For Booking.com, the answer is education, through a free program offered to hotels called Travel Proud<\/a><\/span>, designed to “help hoteliers and accommodation providers see things from a different perspective and provide some practical skills and techniques that partners can immediately put into practice to help contribute to guests encountering a more inclusive experience.”<\/p>\n Related: Coming out through travel: learning to love myself one trip at a time<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The free online training takes 90 minutes, is offered in 11 languages and was created in partnership with HospitableMe, a global leader in inclusive hospitality education<\/a><\/span>. Once the training is complete, the hotel is equipped with a Travel Proud Customer Toolkit for guest-facing staff to help put into action what they’ve learned.<\/p>\n The hotel also receives a dedicated Travel Proud badge on Booking.com, which shows potential guests that it has completed the training. On the website, LGBTQ+ travelers and allies can even use the “Travel Proud (LGBTQ+ friendly)” filter while searching to see what hotels in their destination are accredited.<\/p>\n The program started after outside research found that a significant number of LGBTQ+ travelers feared judgment from hotel staff, Kristofer Barber, Booking.com’s director of global communications, told me during a visit to the company’s Amsterdam headquarters during World Pride.<\/p>\n Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter<\/p>\n Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG\u2019s experts<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-mob.svg\"\/)
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