LGBT-Friendly Travel Brands

Happy Pride Month, you guys! I've been doing my best to be an ally and get some info out about great travel destinations, and now I'd love to talk about some awesome travel brands that have the LGBT community covered by contributing to great organizations, sponsoring Pride events, and making sure their companies are both inclusive and diverse, creating a safe space for all people, no matter their sexual orientation, identity, and gender. 

photo credit

This is by far not a complete list, but these are some of the most outstanding brands when it comes to inclusivity:

Aggregates

Expedia
From their inclusive television commercials to their destination overviews for gay and lesbian travels, they offer the chance to read up and then book right on the site.
Orbitz

Need a one-stop shop for LGBT-friendly hotels, resorts, destinations and events? Orbitz offers up their own guides to make your vacation the best ever.

Airlines

airberlin

A member of the IGLTA, an active member and contributor to LGBT nonprofits and community campaigns, airberlin takes pride in have a diverse and inclusive staff from over 60 countries.

Alaska

Pride flies nonstop with Alaska and they have a list of resources for great Pride celebrations in cities they fly in/out of, including an events calendar and special discounts. 

American

American is one of my favorite airlines, but they are also a fantastic company on the inside. They the first airline to include sexual orientation (1993) and gender identity (2000) in its nondiscrimination policies for employees, it has criticized anti-gay legislation, and scored 100 on the Human Rights Campaign index.

Delta

Pride Takes Flight Here at Delta and they offer plenty of resources for folx to find the perfect vacation destination for them and also tout their employee equality culture and denounce anti-gay legislation and discrimination.

JetBlue 

The first airline to allow same-sex couples to accrue airline points together also supports amazing non-profits like the Trevor Project, National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, and sponsored the Pride events their HQ of Long Beach, CA.

Southwest

Southwest is the official airline of several LGBT organizations, including GLAAD. Their tagline is "we support the LGBTQ Community, because we are the LGBTQ Community." Learn more on their LGBTQ Outreach page. 

United

The only other airline to earn a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign index, United is a gold partner of IGLTA and airline partner for the Gay Games of Cleveland.

Virgin

The entire Virgin brand is headed by Richard Branson, a proud and loud ally. They are an official sponsor of San Francisco Pride.

Hotels

Airbnb

I love a good vacation rental, and I'm a big fan of Airbnb. They have Project Lighthouse to uncover and overcome discrimination throughout their community and rentals. They also offer lots of experiences for LGBT folx.

Caesars Entertainment Corp.

Not only do they partner with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and IGLTA, but they also have scored 100 on the Corporate Equality Index many years in a row and even have their own microsite for their LGBT travelers. 

Choice Hotels

In 2019 Choice Hotels was named "Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality" for 9th consecutive year. With another perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index, they have a long list of resources for employees, including Choice PRIDE that aims help create and maintain a supportive work environment.

Commune Hotels

Commune has a brand called Joie de Vive that has sponsored the San Francisco Pride celebration for many years, their Thompson Hotels on the east coast offers specials for NYC's Pride celebration. Both brands are TAG-approved, an LGBTQ-owned and operated Travel Advocacy Group.

Hilton Hotels

Stay Hilton. Go Out. Like several other companies, Hilton received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and is a platinum partner of the IGLTA and an official partner of the Washington, DC Pride parade and GLAAD media awards. Check out their Hilton Pride microsite.

Hyatt Hotels

Not only does Hyatt celebrate equality, but they have a Facebook page dedicated to it entitled HyPride, that promotes their HyPride program and their LGBT initiatives.

IHG Hotels (Intercontinental Hotel Group)

While fighting for marriage equality and and against anti-gay legislature, IHG joined the Human Rights Campaign in their efforts for LGBTQ rights, and has sponsored Atlanta's Pride festival since 2011 (as that is where their headquarters are located).

Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group

The first hotel to sign on as the first national hotel sponsor for the Trevor Project, is also a member of IGLTA and is TAG-approved. All of their employees are given yearly trainig on how to make their hotels more gay-friendly and accepting.

Marriott International

In my photo above, I'm wearing one of Marriott's #LoveTravels shirts. I saw my friend Troy wearing one (Troy writes for a lot of travel sites and also runs The Gay Traveler, where he specializes in LGBT travel) in an Instagram post and I asked about it. He was kind enough to send me an extra. Not surprisingly, Marriott also received a 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. You can read more about #LoveTravels here.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Starwood's W Hotels were the first to offer same-sex marriage packages in New York, but also frequently support Pride events and LGBT organizations around the globe.
vrbo
The vacation rental booking site is owned by Expedia.

Transportation

Amtrak

You can Ride with Pride with Amtrak and they also want to help you Ride to Pride, by showing you all the great destinations with awesome Pride events that are worth traveling for. They even provide a great link for more LGBT education.

Carnival Cruises

Carnival Cruiselines strives to treat everyone equally and extend the FUN to every single cruiser. The earned a perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index and participate and sponsor both the Seattle Pride Parade and Southampton Pride.

Lyft

Lyft does their best to support and employ the LGBT community. With equality in the workplace, they also contribute money to important organizations like StoryCorps' Stonewall OutLoud campaign and the ACLU, and they put their commitments out there with LyftUp.

Uber

Not only do they get you to all the Pride events safely, they also sponsor Pride events in major cities in the US.

I hope you're all having a wonderful June and Pride Month, even if festivities are postponed this year. Just remember, Pride isn't cancelled, and you can find ways to support the community and also celebrate safely. And if you want to plan your trips beyond how to get there and where to stay, check out this list from journey of 12 LGBT+ monuments celebrating history and Budget Travel has the 10 best LGBT+ bars in the US. 

What are your favorite LGBT-friendly travel brands?

Where to Travel Domestically Right Now

Things are reopening and a lot more people are ready to travel, but aren't too interested in taking a long flight. In fact, many people are still wary of flying internationally and are looking to domestic destinations to satisfy their travel bug. So, if you're looking for places in the US that have high vaccination rates and are still taking the pandemic, and your safety, seriously. 

While we're fully vaxxed, we aren't interested in going anywhere that's going to be super crowded or popular, and we won't be traveling in the summer at all. Right now, restaurants, museums, national parks and the like are super busy. In fact, many national parks right now are closing to visitors very early in the day, due to how many visitors they're getting. So, where should you go instead?

Los Angeles

More than half of those 16+ in LA are fully vaccinated and the state is finally open with some restrictions. Cases are dropping and soon those attending events and large gatherings will be able to use CLEAR to show they have been vaccinated. The state overall is trying really hard to lure tourists back, especially with Disneyland and other theme parks open.

New York City

Not only is NYC getting back on track for their people, but they will also be vaccinating visitors who would like to get a shot via mobile vaxx sites. Broadway shows are reopening, and the food scene is bouncing back, and those getting vaccinated are eligible for a ton of freebies, like Knicks tickets and Shake Shack yums.

New Orleans

Though it looks like NoLa was going to be pretty behind in keeping their local healthy, they shut down things and cancelled regular Mardi Gras celebrations and told travelers to please stay home. Instead of getting risque, you can now get freebies around town by flashing your vaccination card at restaurants, bars, and other businesses.

Charlottesville, VA

Virginia has launched its WanderLove campaign, and you'll find a bunch of LOVE installations across the state for taking pics. You'll even be able to get free beers and other things if you can prove you've had at least your first Covid shot. 

Houston

Despite how badly Texas in general is doing in regards to Covid vaccines, including not reporting correct numbers, Houston seems to be doing much, much better than everywhere else. Open-air concerts are back, so enjoy the weather and nature out at Discovery Green. This park hosts free weekly music performances, a permanent art installation and even two restaurants, where you can indulge in some great Texas BBQ.

Chicago

With vaccine rates rising and Covid numbers falling, outdoor dining and drive-in movies are returning this summer and people are flocking to the beaches. If you're looking for more to do in Chicago, check out this post.

Honolulu

Hawaii has been a great travel destination throughout this pandemic, holding firm on their quarantine rules and then omitting them for those who are fully vaccinated. Travelers are required to Covid test before travel and on the way back to the mainland. It's been a while since I've been to Honolulu, but if you're looking for affordable things to do, I've got tips for visiting Molokai, Maui or Honolulu.

Washington, DC

With Covid restrictions finally lifted, most of the museums have reopened. The weather is generally nice during the summer and early fall, so eating outside will be pleasant, allowing you to dig in to the rich foodie scene. Here are some of the things we did on one of our previous trips.

Las Vegas

After a rough start with opening and closing and trying to figure out how to keep things going throughout the pandemic, Vegas finally got it together and has been welcoming visitors with extra precautions. Thought many things may have closed, new things have opened, making the city new in lots of ways for repeat visitors like me. We decided against NBA Summer League this year, but we will be road tripping there in late September/early October. 

Some states are doing much better when it comes to vaccinating its population than others. Here's how each stands a month or so ago, based on how many have gotten at least one dose. If you're doing a road trip, this might be important information for your route.

If you are looking into traveling outside of the country, here are some countries with high vaccination rates that might be on your list to visit.

Are you hoping to travel soon? If so, where are you planning to go?

Checking In

We seem to be in a transitional time. We're going from a bunch of restrictions to hardly any restrictions and I'm not entirely sure how to handle it. The pandemic made a lot of normal things seem questionable and though we've been dipping our toes in, I think there are a lot of things we will change going forward. 

Summer brings with it a slew of family birthdays and people wanting to make a bunch of plans with us. Staying home was actually really good for my mental and physical health. I didn't have to tell anyone no, because staying home and keeping physically distant from people outside your house were a given. I have been able to enjoy more time with my husband and myself and I was super into it, so I'll tell you how I am, and you can tell me how you're dealing right now.

Making: Chocolate mint cakes for Eric's birthday. He requested that flavor combo, so I made mini bundts to serve at our first indoor, non-masked family celebration. While I know we probably aren't in danger of getting each other sick with Covid, I also am starting to realize that eating cake that someone else has blown on is pretty weird and gross. I might always do a mini cake for the candles from now on.

Drinking: A lot of coffee still, because I'm trying my best to help out my local coffee shops, but I have also been trying the new Cutwater Spirits canned cocktails, which are a great alternative to going out and spending $10+ on a cocktail or buying everything to mix yourself. The Paloma is a great, refreshing drink for the summer.

Listening: New music by Ashnikko, AJR, and The Band Camino. I've also been listening to the new season of The Adventure Zone podcast, while also relistening to TAZ Amnesty to get back to some old friends. The McElroy podcasts got me through 2020 and I'm glad I've gotten back to them. Gamers might appreciate The Besties, where Justin and Griffin talk with some other friends about the best games of the week. 

Looking: At things to do in the Maldives and in Colombo, Sri Lanka, though we won't be going for another year .I'm also looking into new things to do in Las Vegas, and things on the way for our upcoming road trip.

Wishing: We were going on vacation sooner than September, but since we're also planning several more trips for next year, I can't complain too much.

Enjoying: The nicer weather and sitting outside in the backyard and doing the little bit of gardening...and stick-on manicures. My favorites right now are from Lily & Fox. They are easy to put on, they're affordable, and they last longer than expected. I think they will be perfect for travel, because if it gets chippy, you can just peel them off and put on new ones...or not.

Wondering: If crowded spaces will ever feel comfortable for me again or if I will always feel like I need a mask in those sorts of spaces. 

Watching: I just finally watched Raya and the Last Dragon on Disney+ and I loved it. Like everyone else on the planet, I'm watching Loki. I've also been watching Girls5eva on Peacock, which is hysterical, and Dollhouse on Hulu with Kat Dennings, which I also love, but it makes me glad I don't have to date ever again. If you're struggling a bit with mental health and/or anxiety, Bo Burnham's Netflix special Inside is fun, interesting, and heart-wrenching at the same time. If you've not been exposed to his comedy before, I'd not suggest starting with this one, as it can be difficult to watch in spots. He wrote and filmed the whole thing himself and it took him an entire year, but I feel like it may also be his best. 

Hoping: More people will get vaccinated across the country, so traveling feels more safe, and we have a much smaller chance of having Covid variants (like the Delta variant that comes with black fungus) running rampant through our population and doing a whole other round of lockdown/quarantine.

Marveling: At just how many cool things there are to see/do in Portland that aren't hiking. The city gets even more creative with things when group/crowd activities are not happening. 

Needing: Some time away from home, which I will get in due time. In the meantime, I realized what I was needing was some hugs from family, which I indulged in over the last weekend now that we're all fully vaccinated.

Smelling: All the mint and tomatoes growing in my yard. 

Wearing: More colorful makeup to feel happier and my new white Columbia slip-on PFG shoes, because the weather's nice and I am finally going out of the house more and shoes matter again. 

Thinking: About how much I don't really miss eating out. I mean, I like going out and having someone serve me food I didn't cook, but after over a year of making my own food or getting food delivered, I think I will be more picky about when I eat out and where I go. We probably won't be going back to eating out 3-4 times during the weekend. If we do, I think it will revolve a lot more around the food trucks and a lot less around going inside somewhere.

Buying: Backgrounds for more summery destinations. I'll still be doing Destination Date Night staycations, just maybe less frequently. We've found them to be a great little escape that's affordable. We'll be doing Malta soon.  

Disliking: How full restaurants are in the middle of the week and how busy the highways are becoming again. 

Feeling: Like I need to get back into vacation mode now that more and more people are getting vaccinated and travel is getting back to normal. I'm already planning much more than I have in the whole last year.

Now, tell me how things are going with you