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news
No F ags A llowed
A resort chain's heterosexual-couples-only policy
is raising the ire of some activists by Gip Plaster
fter an Atlanta man uncovered a
prize that excluded gay and les
bian couples, some of the
nations largest travel and Inter
net companies were ensnared in
a controversy over how far companies can go to
create an exclusive environment.
A “romantic getaway” at the Sandals Dunn’s
River Resort in Jamaica was offered as a Valen
tine’s prize promoted by the Internet search
engine Yahoo! and on Microsoft’s M SN Expedia
Web site.
The problem arose because Sandals’ 10
resorts allow only couples made up of one adult
male and one adult female. Singles, children and
same-sex couples are prohibited. The contro-
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“We were not aware of the resort’s policy,”
Yahoo! spokesperson Diane Hunt said via a
written statement. “As soon as it was brought to
our attention, we responded immediately by
contacting our promotional clients to have the
sweepstakes removed.”
Although the sweepstakes was removed,
links to Sandals still exist on Yahoo!
Rick Weintraub, a spokesperson for U S Air
ways, says: “That promotion was withdrawn. We
have a very firm written policy prohibiting dis
crimination.”
He adds U S Airways Vacations is a separate
company that licenses the U S Airways name.
Sandals has remained unapologetic through
out the incident
and has pointed
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From Sandals’ official Internet
home page
versy widened
when activists
learned that Sandals is also promoted on the
World Wide Web by U S Airways Vacations,
Travelocity, American Airlines Vacations,
Online Vacation Mall and other sites.
“I was shopping for a vacation for my
boyfriend and I,” says Kirby Frank, a gay Atlanta
man, explaining how he discovered the prohibi
tion against gay and lesbian couples in the con
test’s fine print. “I’m a little hit o f an activist and
that just pissed me off. I really didn’t think I
could let them get away with that.”
Frank says he was more upset with the U.S.
companies that partnered with the exclusive
resort than with Jamaica-based Sandals.
“I think it’s a horrible policy, hut at least San
dals is telling me up front that they don’t want
my business— that they don’t want any of my
money, ever."
He adds: “1 think Sandals is offensive. I think
they’re a hunch of schmucks and they don’t care
that I care. But 1 think American Airlines
should care. And 1 think U S Airways should
care.”
Frank contacted his friend, John Aravosis,
an online activist and the president of Wired
Strategies, an Internet consulting company.
Aravosis is the activist who first broke the story
of Merriam-Wehster’s offensive synonyms for
homosexual in its thesaurus.
Aravosis issued a press release and began
contacting the companies involved.
“The fact that they would actually say that
gay couples are not allowed is amazing,” he says.
Aravosis is pleased with the quick response
by Microsoft, which immediately removed all
direct links to Sandals and distanced itself from
the situation.
Suzi LeVine, product manager for MSN
Expedia, says more than 30 brands advertise on
the site, including Online Vacation Mall, which
ran the contest.
She says Microsoft will re-evaluate its rela
tionship with Sandals and notes that some of its
advertisers may have links to Sandals, so it may
be possible to reach Sandals indirectly from the
site.
“As you know, Microsoft has very strong
policies that are very pro-everyone,” she main
tains.
out that it also runs Beaches resorts, which
allow children, singles and same-sex couples.
“The opposite-sex-only policy provided an
atmosphere that a lot of our clients are looking
for,” explains Cathleen Decker, an employee of
the public relatioas firm Jensen/Boga, which
represents Sandals in the United States.
She argues that restrictive policies are com
mon in the travel industry. “We really do think
the couples we attract are looking for this exclu
sionary atmosphere. 1 don’t think this policy is
particularly unique.... The truth is, it is niche
marketing. Sandals is very, very good at catering
to this group of folks.”
Art Spitzer, an attorney with the American
Civil Liberties Union, says it’s not clear that any
legal action can he taken against Sandals’ policy
of discrimination against same-sex couples.
“American law doesn’t control conduct in
the rest of the world,” he says, referring to the
fact that the resort chain is based in Jamaica.
Regarding whether the U.S. companies that
advertised the discriminatory sweepstakes via
the Internet could be subject to legal action, he
responds: “The law on that is still very much in
a developing state.”
He notes that Microsoft, for example, is sub
ject to the laws in its home state of Washington,
which do not bar anti-gay discrimination. The
law is not clear on whether the company could
he successfully sued for advertising the contest
in places where discrimination based on sexual
orientation is prohibited.
On the other side of the niche marketing
coin is Olivia Cruises, which caters to lesbians.
The company has had some heterosexual
women on its cruises, usually sisters or close
friends of lesbian cruisers, according to its direc
tor of marketing, Judy Werle.
No men have ever been passengers on an
Olivia cruise, although some have asked. Werle
says the men were told about the nature of the
cruises and voluntarily agreed not to go.
“The cruises are designed for women. I don’t
think we can legally say that men can’t go. I
don’t know that a gay man would feel comfort
able on the cruise, though," she says.
Werle does not support Sandals’ policy, how
ever.
“I think niche marketing to heterosexual
couples is based on discrimination,” she says.
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