Going back in queer history, early group tours focused on LGBTQ+ people were, above all, discreet. When the late Hanns Ebensten founded HE Travel in Key West in 1972, he originally marketed it to “discerning gentlemen,” a 1970s-safe code for gay men. The idea was to avoid attracting attention.
When companies like Atlantis, RSVP and Olivia launched in the 1980s and ’90s, people wanted to live their vacation dreams out of the closet, but safety issues remained. LGBTQ+-focused vacation hosts created venues, on ships and at resorts, where we could be together and let our guard down out of the sight of straight people. That’s fun, certainly, but doesn’t allow travellers to experience how the locals live. Meanwhile, many of the larger male-oriented cruises and events developed cultures that can be very body- and party-focused, which can be intimidating for some.
John Finen had been the technical director for more than 100 LGBTQ+ charter vacations when he came up with the idea for VACAYA. Launching in 2018, the U.S. company offers big- and small-ship cruises, and resort experiences with local hosts, all marketed with a message of inclusiveness. With strategies to be welcoming to all the letters in the LGBTQ2S+ acronym, and straight allies, too, the company has been rapidly increasing its number of offerings, including non-stereotyped destinations like an upcoming Norwegian Fjords Cruise (July 31 to August 7, 2023) and sailing the Pacific to French Polynesia (October 12 to 27, 2023).
As VACAYA celebrates its fifth anniversary, we spoke to Randle Roper, co-founder and CEO, and Patrick Gunn, co-founder and CMO, about what sets the company apart, as well as trends they’re seeing in the LGBTQ+ travel market.
Where did the idea for VACAYA come from? Where was the gap in the market that you saw?
Randle Roper: The inspiration for VACAYA began with a gentleman by the name of John Finen, who had a vision that a more welcoming travel experience for the entirety of our beautiful community could be successful. John approached me and later Patrick to help him shape his idea.
Ultimately, what VACAYA would become was sparked by our own vacations, where we all had encountered two very different experiences. The all-gay cruises were liberating, empowering and fun, but limited to a small spectrum of people. While everyone loves a good time, there’s more to a memorable vacation than just parties. Mainstream vacations offered more activities and destinations, and were accessible to a diverse set of people, but didn’t always feel like a friendly, judgment-free environment.
We all shared a sense there was a sweet spot—a great “in-between”—one that offered the joy of like-minded people coming together to celebrate, with more activities, destinations and ways to personalize the vacation experience. One that capitalized on smart, tech-savvy booking and customer service, just as you might expect with a mainstream vacation.
The name itself speaks to the concept: “VACAYA” is a word from Polari, a centuries-old language used by the gay subculture in Britain to discreetly communicate. Alongside that, the slang word “vacay” has become a casual mainstream term for vacation. Together, the two meanings celebrate our LGBTQ+ identity and the inclusive, joyful and unfettered spirit we cherish.
How has it been going?
Patrick Gunn: VACAYA has grown from four trips in 2019 to nine in 2023. We’ll continue to grow our guest counts from our humble beginnings to around 5,000 travellers in 2023.
So much of the LGBTQ+ travel market is focused on male travellers. How do you go about counterbalancing that and making women, trans and non-binary travellers, and people of different ages, backgrounds and body types, feel welcome?
Gunn: We create a warm environment where all who believe love is love are welcome, and we make it easy for everyone to leave their cares behind and focus on the fun. Travelling with VACAYA is all about our guests being completely comfortable in their own skin, no matter where they fall on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Whether they’re single, coupled, Black, white, skinny, thick or even straight, they’ll easily find a welcoming tribe.
Internally, we have a diversity and inclusion expert whose sole responsibility is ensuring that each and every letter in our community’s alphabet feels seen with VACAYA. Along with our production team, who dream up and execute all onboard events, Alysse Dalessandro creates unique programming for our guests that tap into the needs and desires of our trans, non-binary and curious guests. One great example from our last big-ship cruise was a workshop Alysse conducted called “Self-Expression through Makeup,” where we also provided take-home makeup samples and testers. One of our guests, a teacher, came to the workshop because she has several non-binary students. She was there to learn how to better relate to those students. We sent her home with several makeup kits to share.
We also provide pronoun pins that cover the wide spectrum of gender identity. These pins are handed out at the start of each cruise and they give all of our guests a way of self-identifying and communicating their pronouns. We also confront intolerance and meanness head-on. We’ve created a culture where all our guests stand up for each other. If they see someone, even another guest, demeaning a Vacayan, they step in and do their best to right the situation. And if someone becomes a repeat offender, they’re no longer welcome to travel with us.
What are some of the trends you’re seeing in the expectations of LGBTQ+ travellers?
Roper: The LGBTQ+ community has long been known to travel more than their straight counterparts due to their higher proportion of dual-income-no-kids households, allowing more discretionary time and money to spend on travel. Now we are seeing strong bookings because money that would have been spent in previous years on travel did not get spent, so there’s a pent-up surplus of travel funds.
History shows that our community has been willing to travel even when there are risks associated. Consider that travelling while gay, lesbian, trans or queer has always come with higher risks than the non-LGBTQ+ population. More than 70 United Nations member states criminalize consensual sexual acts between same-sex adults. In addition, the history of HIV/AIDS in the gay community—for which there is still no cure or vaccine, though there is highly effective treatment—means that risk has always been something our community has had to deal with. So uncertainty is viewed with a more open mind than with straight travellers.
As much progress as we’ve made as a society, many LGBTQ+ youth aren’t growing up in welcoming and affirming households. Many grow up in rural areas or small towns where they don’t get to experience the gay community on a daily basis. Since quarantining in 2020, there is a segment of our population which has been forced to delay travelling to a big city for a Pride celebration or an LGBTQ+ vacation. For them, the lure of travelling to experience the joy of feeling in the majority for the first time is palpable.
As we’ve seen recently, after tremendous progress over the last decade, LGBTQ+ rights are starting to backslide, whether it’s Florida or Egypt. And there’s safety in numbers. VACAYA provides our community with a way to explore the world safely in a group. We work with tour companies, government entities and tourism leaders to ensure our guests not only receive a warm welcome, but are treated equitably. That’s certainly more challenging in places like the Middle East, where we took our guests this spring as part of our Ancient Wonders Cruise. But we’re no longer going to allow our community members to be denied experiencing the world’s treasures. They belong to us, too.
What advice would you give an LGBTQ2S+ traveller that you wouldn’t give a straight traveller?
Gunn: Each and every LGBTQ2S+ person has a different level of comfortability in their “outness.” For one magical week, our community gets to be the majority and live life out loud. That single change from being an always-minority to a sudden majority can have a profoundly positive real-world effect on individuals. In those moments of bravery when an individual is feeling safe within our travelling group, some choose to share their authenticity with the communities we visit, which helps change the world, one story and connection at a time.
What do you always pack when travelling?
Gunn: A part of the fun of strolling the decks on a VACAYA cruise is seeing all the creative door decorations. The Vacayans let their creativity run wild with fully-themed door wraps, photo collages and even some fun giveaways.
Roper: You’d be surprised how many people don’t carry a universal worldwide electrical adapter. It’s essential for anyone travelling outside of North America. Since we’ve become so dependent on our phones, a power bank is crucial to keep your device charged through long tours or expeditions. I also carry a USB/lightning cable in my pocket almost everywhere. Typically, you can always find a USB outlet to plug into and charge up.
I’ve heard horror stories and beautiful stories about solo travellers paired up with strangers for cruises and group travel. Any advice for making it work?
Roper: Solo and single travellers make up about 20 percent of our guests, and they certainly add to the fun and excitement of each of VACAYA’s vacations. Most are members of our Solo Travelers Playground on Facebook, which has become a great hub for pre-trip connections with others and also an invaluable resource for finding roommates for VACAYA’s various vacation events.
There are many reasons someone might be travelling alone. It could be as simple as that none of their friends were available to join them, or it could be because they want a room all to themselves so they have a dedicated space to host others. On our trips, our solo and single travellers are presented with specifically-targeted activities designed to connect them with other solo and single travellers.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
