Suggested Citation: Kapoor, K. (2021, July 19). LGBTQIA+ friendly Indian Hospitality: The Past, the Present, and the Future. Queer Academia. URL.
The concept of hospitality is one that is intrinsically ingrained in the cultural fabric of the Indian society. Kumar (n.d.) clarifies that the phrase “athithi devo bhava”, a perennial reminder of the values of Indian hospitality, is actually an excerpt from the Taittiriya Upanishad, Shikshavalli I.20- “ Matrudevo Bhava; Pitrudevo Bhava; Acharyadevo Bhava; Atithidevo Bhav”, literally meaning one should aspire to be a person who “considers the mother as god, the father as god, the teacher as god, and the guest as god”. Modern hospitality takes from the same elements and strives to provide a safe, secure, comfortable, and luxurious experience to their guests.
Hospitality essentially can be defined as an amalgamation of fields within the service industry that includes Lodging, Food and beverage services, tourism etc (Hospitality Industry, n.d.). These sections make up the whole Hospitality sector and contribute significantly to the economic growth of the country and the leisure needs of people. The origin of the hospitality industry in India, which now contributes around 7.5% to the GDP (Malhotra,2017). Devendra (2001) elucidates that the emergence of Hospitality Industry as we know it, is attributed to Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s move to sanction the first-ever government investment in the hotel industry with the building of the Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi. Fast forward to the 21st century, India is now a promising young player in the league of global luxury hospitality providers, with Taj group of hotels alone holding 100+ properties, 84 national and 16 international, amassing a whopping revenue of ₹4,174 crore in 2017 (The Indian Hotels Company Limited,2017)
Another aspect of ancient Indian history, which is often shoved away by misconception,ignorance, and blatant homophobia is our rich queer past. Kumar (n.d.), explains how one can easily find examples of queer characters in Epics, he explains “...in the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Arjuna, the hero and bow warrior of Kurshektra war, once became a eunuch, Brihannala, where he could only sing and dance with the other ladies of the court.” Ruth V. & Saleem K. (2000) in their book, also offer examples of gender affirming surgeries/changes in Indian Puranic texts, “Perhaps, the best known sex change in ancient Indian literature is that of Amba into Sikhandin”, they quote.
After years of neglect,it seems, the hospitality industry is finally looking to openly welcome the LGBTQIA+ community. But as is the case with most industries in India, queer initiative or queer friendly spaces are a fairly new concept. It is important to understand how heteronormative the structure of all industries is and how they fail to recognise and account for a huge percentage of the queer public’s need for safe space and open acceptability.
The following sections deal with the timeline of the advent of queer friendly spaces as a part of Indian Hospitality, the perception of the queer public and what lies ahead in this quest.
THE PAST-
The queer community has borne the brunt of abuse for years in Modern India. Not only because of the regressive Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, but also because of the incessant and fatal bullying for merely existing.
Queer activists and event organisers have long recounted their harrowing experiences of hosting LGBTQ friendly events and the threats that came with it. Although the reading down of section 377 of the indian penal has started a queer friendly conversation, things are far from perfect. “I remember, a club we once approached [to host us, they] asked us how we could think of hosting such a ‘disgusting thing’. I think a lot more people are scared now, it’s too much of a risk, and they don’t want to be known as a place that hosts gay parties,” says Ma Faiza, a queer event organiser, to Firstpost (Ananya,2016)
Queer friendly hotels and safe spaces were therefore almost nonexistent due to the fear of constant persecution. That slowly changed post the upliftment of the ban, especially in fast moving metropolitan cities like Delhi. Places like Mister & Arthouse opened up, challenging the heteronormative way of providing hospitality to the queer public. An inn open to specifically gay men, Mister & Arthouse, although on the higher end of the budget, is a tastefully furnished, cozy accommodation. Located in the southern part of the capital (and also in Jaipur), the inn enjoys a queer friendly Delhi neighbourhood along with metro connectivity, basic amenities, and delightful homemade food.
THE PRESENT-
While there is still an acute need of affordable accommodation for queer youth, many of the big game changers are begining to show their support or even comment on the matter of actively promoting and supporting queer accomodation/travel.
According to World Rainbow Hotels (WRH),who work to provide safe hospitality to queer folks globally, each year more and more indian business are looking to join their extensive list of queer friendly hotels.The Leela Palace Kempinski Udaipur, Park Hyatt Goa Resort And Spa, Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort in Greater Noida are a few of the top hotels listed.
The (WRH) conducts exhaustive background checks and interviews top level management to ensure genuinity among big businesses to cater to the LGBTQIA+ community instead of just “Pride washing”, i.e. the act of using rainbow themed advertising, apparel, accessories etc., in order to imply progressive support for LGBTQIA+ causes while putting bare minimum effort to actualise change, their business to maintain a facade (Czepanski, 2021). Nicolas Wijnants, brand director at WRH says, “Hotels have to fill out some 150 questions when they submit the RFP, which helps us to determine if a hotel is serious and totally committed to this segment.” (Dev,2012)
The problem of affordable accommodation is not solved by the involvement of these luxury brands, making an environment that is only capable of serving the rich or foreign queer travellers. It is disappointing to note that leaders in the field of affordable tourism ie companies like GoIbibo, Trivago, and Oyo rooms, are yet to introduce queer friendly listings on their platform (Aswal, 2019)
But emerging as a competitor in this segment is StayUncle, an accommodation listing platform which is gaining wild popularity for its queer and young-couple friendly rooms. StayUncle is seen as a harbinger of judgement-free zones, with flexible stay timings, affordable room rates, and services ranging from luxurious to pocket friendly (StayUncle Blog, 2017).
THE FUTURE-
The future of queer reality in India still seems massively unsure with little government support, but tides of change are surely rising.As more and more brands are turning over a new leaf, it is also important to remember that these places of accommodation or leisure should not only be safe to exist but should also be devoid of judgement.
It is imperative to sensitise hospitality employees on how to help make their queer guests not only feel safe but also welcomed. This includes openly sharing and asking for pronouns, not assuming living preferences, welcoming queer couples, devising queer friendly couple packages, and above all actively showcasing support towards the community and not just profiting off of important milestones in the timeline of Queer History like Pride month.
On the service end, an excellent way to practice what you preach is to actively employ queer staff members. Letting queer employees know that they are supported in and out of the workplace is an impactful way of bringing change.
PEOPLE’S PERSPECTIVE
An independent survey of 100 Queer Indian youth from all across country was conducted by Mendlife Foundation’s Queer Academia, via online forms. When asked if they had ever visited queer friendly hospitality institutions, 40% of them said that they never had the opportunity to.
76.5% of queer youth actually reported that they felt an excruciating inaccesibility of these safe spaces due to inaffordability and their concentration in metropolitan cities. In addition to that, around 26.4% also attribute this inaccessibility to their sheer fear of being persecuted and discriminated against, or worse, harassed.
These statistics offer a glimpse and only a sliver of solace, that even though change is happening, it may never alter the lives of the current youth in question. It is high time that the Indian Hospitality industry not only recognises the needs of, but also champions the causes of queer youth and strives to create a conducive environment for them to thrive in.
References-
Ananya, I. (2016, June 19). For LGBTQ community
in India, the search for safe public spaces is a difficult one. Firstpost. https://www.firstpost.com/living/for-lgbtq-community-in-india-the-search-for-safe-public-spaces-is-a-difficult-one-2843726.html
Andrews. (2007). Introduction
To Tourism And Hospitality Industry. McGraw-Hill Education (India).
Anonymous. (2017). “I dropped my Oyo
booking and rushed for Uncle. Here is why!”- Naughty Sita, StayUncle Blog. https://blog.stayuncle.com/stayuncle-reviews-pune/
Aswal, S. (2019, August 29). “Couples Need A Room, Not A Judgement”—The Quest For Queer Friendly Hotels. Feminisim in India.https://feminisminindia.com/2019/08/29/quest-for-queer-friendly-hotels/
Czepanski, D. (2021, June 3). Rainbow Washing Is A Thing, Here’s Why It Needs To Stop.https://www.theurbanlist.com/a-list/rainbow-washing
Dev, S. (2012, November 2). Indian hotels show increasing interest in LGBT segment- Express Food & hospitality. https://www.foodhospitality.in/market/indian-hotels-show-increasing-interest-in-lgbt-segment/818/
Devendra, A. (2001). The Hotel Industry
in India-The Past and the Present. Journal of Hospitality Financial
Management, 9(1). https://scholarworks.umass.edu/jhfm/vol9/iss1/7
The Indian Hotels Company Limited
(2016-17). Indian Hotels
Company Profit & Loss account, Indian Hotels Company Financial Statement
& Accounts" (PDF). Tag Hotels.
Kumar, C. (n.d.). Tourism and
Hospitality in Vedas: A journey of Tourism and Hospitality through Indian Epics
and Scriptures. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/30520280/Tourism_and_Hospitality_in_Vedas_A_journey_of_Tourism_and_Hospitality_through_Indian_Epics_and_Scriptures
Kumar, K. N. (n.d.). Accepting the queer: towards the LGBT inclusivity in India. Pramanaresearch.org.Accepting the queer: towards the LGBT inclusivity in India
Malhotra, S. (2017, May 16). Hospitality Industry In India: A Big Contributor To The Economy's
Growth. Businessworld. Hospitality Industry In
India: A Big Contributor To Economy's Growth
Ruth, V. & Saleem, K. (2000). Vyasa’s Mahabharatha: “Sikhandin’s sex change”- Same sex love.
Written by: Kritika Kapoor
Reviewed by: Smriti Gupta, Aashi Singh and Kanav Sahgal
About the Author:
Kritika Kapoor is a hospitality student, set to graduate from the premiere
hospitality institute of India, IHM Pusa.
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