No, I just made it up. Like automagically, since it fit better than “mom and pop.” Or I could have heard it somewhere but forgot. Anyway, not in wide usage to my knowledge. I’m dismazed at Chik-fil-A’s popularity for the predictable reasons but the last time I ate food from there 10+ years ago I thought it was pretty good for fast food.
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I’ve never been to a Chik-Fil-A. so I have no idea if the food is good. My theory on chicken and other birds is they call it “Fowl” for a reason. 
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Haha, I see what you did there…
It is my secret shame that I like Chik-fil-A sandwiches. When I have indulged in the past, though, it was at the Nashua franchise:
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Me too. Chick-Fil-a sammich (better than sandwich) waffle fries & lemonade. It’s a 1 or 2x a year treat.
It seems they’ve backed down a bit on management voicing political/social views according to Wikipedia , “July 2012 stating, “Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”[1] In March 2014, tax filings for 2012 showed the group stopped funding all but one organization which had been previously criticized,”
I’m no expert. I know Wikipedia isn’t reliable or a full resource
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Glad to hear this. I’ve always liked their food since I first encountered it in 1979 but once I found out about their owner’s anti-LGBTQ stance I quit them cold turkey. Still get the jones for them when I drive by the local one, but I’ve never given in to the craving. And I won’t, even if the corporate stance changes, as long as the current owners continue to own it because I refuse to enrich individuals of their persuasion.
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This is timely as recently I have been thinking about ways to make sure that my listing doesn’t contain any of those code words or symbols. My home is open and welcoming and I’d love to make sure that my listing is presented that way. Does anyone come right out and say “LBGTQ-friendly” in their listings?
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I don’t say it with words but I say it with pictures (as previously discussed multiple times.) I know some hosts here say they have that in their listings. I’ve seen listings that say it but all Airbnb listings are required by Airbnb policy to be it.
I’ve also seen listings that flat out state “different sex couples only,” “this is a Christian home and only married opposite sex couples are welcome in our queen bedroom” “no homosexuals allowed.” Yes, I’ve seen it with my own two eyes on Airbnb listings. I report those listings of course. I avoid overtly Christian homes where they feel they have to state their love of God and country and I now avoid homes with prominent US flag or other patriotic themes unless I see counter balancing decor or statements. I was deciding between two homes in South Carolina in the last few months. One home was neutral. The other the host mentioned they worked at the nearby Nazarene Church. I chose neutral.
I have these pictures in my listings. Hopefully the “Hate has no Home here” signs signal that we welcome everyone .
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After an earlier post on FabStaz I evaluated it; Because of the way they charge fees, I decided it was an investment that could pay off, but only IF much of my business shifted to their platform vs AirBNB. I decided (for now) to stick with what I’ve done well with. If things begin to erode with AirBNB, I’d consider reevaluating it. I do think focusing on a niche market limits their potential for growth and if they do start impacting AirBNB enough, I can imagine AirBNB creating another business segment within their own portfolio, focusing on LGBTQ.
Last year I evaluated MrB&B. I questioned its approach;
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why did they require the host to list their age?
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Why did they want more information about the host rather than the accommodations?
It seemed (to me) to be a cross between Dating Apps and Hosptality Apps. I asked some friends who list on both AirBNB and MrB&B to give me their perspective of their experiences. I was told that MrB&B guests tended to be more social and looking for more than accommodations during their visit than the typical AirBNB guests. They also said that the gay couples they had hosted (from MrB&B) had higher expectations in comparison to AirBNB guests.
Regarding Code Words -> Another area for cues of being LGBTQ friendly is in reviews from guests. I’ve hosted several gay and lesbian couples and their comments are hopefully indicative to others that everyone is welcome.
I have never set foot in a Chik-fil-A; Primarily because I avoid greasy FastFood, but any curiosity I may have had was nullified by what I had read about their politics.
On a side note I came across this article yesterday; It’s a rather enlightening view of those who may not be so enlightened, and a lesson for how such people might be best handled.
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Or even having a check box on the filters?
Maybe it’s just me but Fabstayz is one of those business names that rubs me the wrong way. Even the z on the end is annoying.
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Turn the other cheek and doing good to those who hate you have a long history of having a good effect.
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There’s a place in my neighborhood that is similar in size/amenities to my little studio that has some weird Christian stuff mentioned in their listing. They don’t say anything discriminatory like same-sex couples thing and I don’t get the feeling that that is where they are going with it; however, it still seems really odd to discuss your realtionship with god in your listing - they go on quite a bit about it. I like to think of them as a type of fly-paper - that they attract other people like them and it keeps those people from booking my studio. I’m glad they are doing their weird thing down the street.
I would of course report them if they were saying something discriminatory but they aren’t. I’m not sure if they are really clever or just really godly and not discriminating.
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I don’t my airhost to go on and one about their relationship with anyone. It could be their DVD collection, the mom they live and host with, their same sex partner or their hand. Even if someone went on and on about their rescue dogs… Just no.
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I do. I say “we welcome all LGBTQIA travelers with pride.”
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I use to list my wedding/party venue options on Wedding Wire, Gay Wedding Venues and The Knot. We had a pride flag on our listing. We now just do parties/weddings through word of mouth and rent out the vacation rentals to the wedding parties, family and friends. We can do up to 150 people, but we are now limiting to 30-50 guests and it works out better for us. We have a wedding garden that gets used and I would say almost a third of our tours and bookings are from the LBGTQ family that want intimate weddings which we can do without too much cost to them or us. It’s a win, win.
I do not have any notice posted on my 3 home rentals though other than events allowed contact owner. When we started years ago we went to many LBGTQ sites and dropped off brochures and business cards that we still get calls from even though we have downsized our events big time in the last 6-9 months.
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I wrote this recently about Robert if anyone is interested in listening to the podcast:
About FabStayz
FabStayz is a new listing site that launched this past summer. Hosts are comprised of the LGBT+ community and Allies. Allies are hosts who support the LGBT+ community. Founder, Robert Geller, is an Airbnb Superhost and owner of the gay travel company Outings and Adventures.
Robert saw a need for a site that removed the awkwardness of sometimes having to “come out,” on both the host and guest side. Meet Robert by reading this article published in the Vacationer. Learn more about Robert’s background in Debi Hertert’s Hosting Your Own Home podcast interview. I listened to it and loved hearing Robert’s story.
For anyone interested, this is word for word from Robert himself in reply to a question I had when someone was saying Misterbnb is the same thing. He gave me permission to copy/paste because I asked him how to reply to people who think that Misterbnb is the same thing. I know it’s not, and I understand the “need” he saw because I listened to his podcast interview and am part of his Facebook group. He gave me permission to use his reply to my question:
"Misterbnb is viewed as a hookup site as it is funded by Grindr serving gay men with its focus on gay male hosts and gay male travelers. The site informs travelers of who else from Misterbnb is staying near by.
And, many Misterbnb hosts do not welcome women! AND few member of the LGBT+ community representing the L and T would use a platform with the name ‘Mister.’
FabStayz is a platform welcoming to the entire LGBT+ community and allies! FabStayz has aligned with travel bureaus and LGBT+ chambers of commerce to features LGBT+ welcoming businesses in the various destinations along FabFun such as LGBT Film Festivals and Pride events.
The majority of FabHosts are allies wanting to be recognized as welcoming to the LGBT+ community fostering safe, welcoming, judgment free spaces"
Next reply was this: “From the outside, especially those not in the LGBT+ community, it may look like two similar platforms. Yet, from the inside, vastly different.”
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Crikey. As we say here in UK. It’s never occurred to me to explicitly welcome any particular “group”. Maybe I should say “All sentient humans welcome”. Or would that discriminate against racists, homophobes, Brexiteers and other non-sentient humans? Probably.
I think I’ll just stick to “everyone welcome” and continue believing in the day that these issues will not matter.
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One day they won’t matter and that’s why the answer to the OP’s question is NO.
Many gay themed businesses are already struggling and there are also other older more established players in what is a small and shrinking space. A company like Olivia Travel that’s been a lesbian based travel service for 30 years probably could blow any gay competitor out of the water if they entered the vacation rental/real estate space. They were a “women’s” aka lesbians music company founded in 1973. They saw the writing on the wall in 1990 and entered the travel business. It pays to know when to hold 'em and when to fold em. Another thing to consider when developing a plan for a gay STR business is location. Provincetown, Key West and San Fransciso already have Airbnb/STR regs in place.
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I am friendly but I don’t say anything about it in the listing, it didn’t occur to me, but I haven’t had any trouble being found either. I am, however, working on cleaning up and painting one of our staircases and one flight is going to be rainbow. I look forward to getting a picture in the listing when it’s done.
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