Sunday, February 16, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NICHE MARKETING: Ignored Community

Tourist officials beginning to see value, potential of gay and lesbian visitors

Tourists Abel Rodriguez, left front, and partner Miguel Meza, listen during their recent commitment ceremony at Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel. The couple visited Las Vegas from California just for the ceremony. Photo by Gary Thompson. Gay couples can see their names in lights at Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel, in this case misspelled. The chapel performs about 100 gay and lesbian commitment ceremonies each month. Las Vegas is gradually starting to note the impact of gay tourism on the city. Photo by Gary Thompson.

This should be the happiest day of Miguel Meza's life; the vows have been said, rings exchanged and only one photo remains to be taken.

Yet Meza is filled with apprehension, even as the chapel photographer tells the couple to stand next to a limousine parked in front of Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel. He wants them to embrace. Worried, Meza glances over his shoulder at the future brides and grooms watching, waiting for their turn at the altar.

He can't help it. He's a gay man standing in plain view of the passing world, holding hands with life partner Abel Rodriguez. And, even though this is Las Vegas, the city where anything goes, two gay men displaying affection in public could be dangerous.

As Meza explained earlier, "You never know who you're standing next to."

Despite this fear, the Long Beach, Calif., couple decided to come to Las Vegas to pledge their devotion to each other in a commitment ceremony.

They're one of about 100 gay and lesbian couples who request such a ceremony every month at Viva Las Vegas, which also serves as a bed and breakfast, says chapel owner Ron DeCar. And Meza and Rodriguez are two of countless unseen homosexual tourists who frequent Las Vegas every year.

In 2002, gays and lesbians spent $55 billion on travel; they travel three times more often than heterosexuals, says Robert Wilson, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association.

They're less likely to have children, which means they possess more discretionary income. They place greater emphasis on luxury and they're willing to pay for it. And, when a business shows support for gays and lesbians, they support the business by displaying strong brand loyalty, he notes.

Even though statistics show that gay men and women make the perfect Las Vegas tourist, few hotels or businesses do anything to attract them.

"They don't think about this particular niche. No one is wooing the market," Wilson says.

That could be changing as the city's first gay resort is slated to open soon. And the economy may force Las Vegas properties to focus more on niches, including the gay and lesbian market, say several resort representatives.

But, when it comes to mainstream Las Vegas, don't expect to see gay-themed commercials or a national marketing campaign from the city or hotels, at least not anytime soon. That could have an alienating effect on heterosexuals, resort representatives say.

"We know the gay market is important to Las Vegas and we believe we reach that audience through our advertising," Rob Powers, spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, says. "We spend $60 million a year on advertising made to reach the broadest market possible, so there's no question we're reaching gays and lesbians."

Meza and Rodriguez agree with that, somewhat. Yes, advertising makes Las Vegas seem like an appealing place to visit, they say, but the lack of gay-friendly images or messages give the impression the city isn't so inviting to gays and lesbians. And that makes them uncomfortable.

"There's some kind of comfort level but not to the extreme that you can feel like you can be yourself," Meza says. "I wish I would be able to walk on the Strip and feel comfortable."

Both have visited Las Vegas several times; Rodriguez, 22, since he was a boy. Their unease with holding hands, let alone kissing in public, stems not from paranoia but personal experience.

Lesbian friends received hostile treatment when visiting recently, Rodriguez says, and on a previous trip, he was chased down the street by people who thought he was gay.

They both say they've heard stories about hotel security harassing gay and lesbian couples. Stories such as these fuel their caution.

Gays and lesbians visit Las Vegas for the same reasons as their straight counterparts: the shows, restaurants, shopping and gambling, says Meza, 32. It's not that he wants to see Las Vegas become a gay mecca, a la Palm Springs, Calif. He just doesn't want to have to keep looking over his shoulder.

"You don't have to do anything but say, `We welcome you,' " says Bob Bellis, director of The Center, a gay and lesbian community center in Las Vegas. "They just want to feel safe."

The Center receives hundreds of calls every year from gay and lesbian tourists looking for information about Las Vegas, Bellis notes. They ask for referrals to gay-friendly hotels, restaurants and safe places in town. Often, callers want to know what chapels offer commitment ceremonies. Not all of them do, he adds.

"We're like the gay chamber of commerce," Bellis says.

A few bed and breakfasts target gay tourists, but most operate without a business license. One such owner, who did not want to be identified, says he had been running a bed and breakfast spot for several years but avoided any kind of local attention for fear of being discovered.

New York-New York, Rio and Harrah's Las Vegas have made it known to the gay community, albeit quietly, that they are gay-friendly, Bellis says, although no Strip property will turn away a gay tourist.

"Historically, New York-New York has identified the market potential in San Francisco and has done spot outreach to that marketplace," says Punam Mathur, MGM Mirage's vice president of diversity and community affairs. "Beaux Rivage in Biloxi (Miss.) has looked at the wealthy and affluent gay and lesbian population in south Florida and reached out through ads in that region."

Niche marketing is nothing new to Las Vegas. Many properties market to Asians or young, hip singles, among others. What is new, Mathur says, is the identification of gays and lesbians as a niche.

"We've historically operated under the idea, `If you build it they will come,' " Mathur says. "As the economy becomes tighter, you'll see more niche marketing."

That's fine, Meza and Rodriguez say, but attitudes must change along with marketing focuses. It does no good to say a resort is gay friendly if the staff treats gay and lesbian guests differently from heterosexuals, they say.

"Las Vegas is still a very conservative town. Question 2 proved that," Bellis says, referring to the vote to amend Nevada's constitution to say that marriage is between a man and a woman.

During the past 10 months, MGM Mirage has been rolling out an extensive diversity program to help employees look past individual biases and treat customers fairly and equally, Mathur says. That includes looking beyond a person's religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation and valuing them as a customer, she adds.

MGM Mirage's efforts are still relatively new, Mathur says. Two company representatives recently attended the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association conference for the first time.

But it's a start and one that other resorts are likely to follow.

"I think a couple of our properties have been proactive," Mathur says. "It's not a mass realization that this is an emerging market (but) I think there are significant changes in demographics that will necessitate (marketing) changes."