Hilton Hotels & Resorts joined the growing list of mega corporations looking to lure more gay customers this week with a brand new “Stay Hilton Go Out Package“. The bundle includes the essential things every gay person absolutely loves: high-speed internet, two welcome “beverages”, late checkout and a one-year digital subscription to OUT Magazine.
Really, Hilton?
The hotel group also caters to gay customers by suggesting local gay events and Pride celebrations as leisure activities. Aside from “discounted” packages and some fancy stock photos of same-sex couples, that’s about all they’re offering.
It’s great that the chain is making an effort to specifically embrace potential gay customers, but including actual gay people in the discussion would have been nice—the “Go Out” package sounds like an idea birthed in a conference room full of straight women shouting things like “gay men love drag queens!” and “all gay men love to dance at circuit parties!”
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Free internet service and alcoholic beverages sound great to anyone, but what’s up with the late checkout service? Did Hilton conduct a survey finding that a majority of their gay customers were partying too hard to miss their checkout time? Should we be offended?
Will the stereotypical offerings of Hilton’s new “gay” package sway your big gay dollar?
Katbox
Fuck’em.
Shadeaux
@Katbox: I concur!
JAW
Free internet and late checkout??? sign me up… some hotels want you out by 11 am… just a pain when working and have an afternoon appt or flight…
Unless they have a Gay, or at least Gay friendly, bar in the hotel… I am heading out for drinks.
Will L
Bless their hearts. You have the executives saying they want to become more gay-friendly. Those instructions trickle down to marketing and the poor soul there has no gay friends and probably not much of a social life. He (or she) tries to come up with something. On one hand, it’s the thought that counts. They’re going to have to do better though. I know people whose ideal stay would be free tickets to drag shows. Others would rather go to museums. We’re a diverse bunch. We aren’t like the “breeders” who would *all* kill for family tickets to Disney World.
JAW
@Will L:
Will… Guess that you have not been to Gay Days at Disney… That might change your mind on free Tix
FStratford
I dont like Hilton and its hotels… they charge for internet when all their other competitors have internet included.
hyhybt
I love late checkout and have no interest in partying. It’s the sort of thing they can offer that at worst does no harm.
longpastdue
in their defense those all sound like standard perks. The same stuff they give out to anybody when they’re putting together a package deal. So yeah in a way it’s actually them being non-discriminatory by giving us the same old shit.
Tommysole
I happen to be a very early riser.
Most times I am up before the sun rises -thank you united states Navy!- if I rise any later or sleep more than 5 hours a night I feel the entire day is wasted.
Jag-off Hilton can kiss my tail.
DOFEK
Do they give a man for the time of staying? I come for a year + AdamHomo
Dresden
@FStratford: The Hilton charges for anything they can possibly get away with, because they’re owned by a venture capitalist firm and their biggest concern is making as much money for their stock holders as they possibly can, regardless of whether or not they’re running the chain into the ground. Which is exactly what’s been happening since the Hilton family sold it a number of years ago.
On the other hand, they’ve always been very supportive of their gay employees. They have a strict policy against harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation; they even offer benefits to same sex couples. Unfortunately, they’re systematically culling anyone with said benefits to replace them with part-time and temporary workers or foreign interns, all of which have no benefits and get paid a hell of a lot less. So, yeah… fuck ’em.