W Hotels chief explains chain’s gay-friendly appeal

OK, after dissing OutTraveler yesterday for their throwaway piece on honeymoon hot spots, it’s time to give credit where due. Their interview with Starwood executive Ross Klein, chief of the W, St. Regis, and Luxury Collection brands, is thoughtful and helpful.

For any gay traveler who’s ever checked into a W Hotel and thought, “I love this place!” it should come as no surprise that an out gay man helped to create the brand. From aesthetics to advertising, W goes out of its way to make us feel welcome.

“It’s really about an emotional appeal,” Klein says. “It’s not necessarily about an income level appeal or a professional appeal or any of those things. It’s really more about people who relate to an aesthetic that is comfortable and slightly cool, and a level of service that is respectful but not necessarily servitude.”

I’ve stayed in W Hotels with my boyfriend, and I’m always struck by how cool they are with the same-sex thing. Here’s the typical front-desk scenario at many hotel brands: “Oh, you guys want a king bed? Um, sure, we can do that. Right. Okay. That’s absolutely no problem. You’re very welcome, of course.” (All this is said with lots of paper-shuffling and no eye contact.)

And here’s the W welcome: “Hey, guys, you want a king room with a city view or a pool view?”

Klein says he once got his hands on another hotel chain’s manual on dealing with gay guests. “It was just so… clinical,” he recalls. “I wanted to know, where was the one on how to manage your nongay guest? Our guests, be they straight, gay, transgender, bi, whatever, they expect us to be truthful and authentic, and they can smell it a mile away.”

I love booking my clients at W properties, and never once has anyone complained that they felt uncomfortable or unwelcome. The one complaint I do get is that the service can be a little cool. W likes to call itself an entertainment brand rather than a lodging brand, and they seem to choose their employees based on  movie-star looks rather than can-do attitude.

In other words, lots of hotels will leave candy on your pillow, but W hires eye candy to fluff your pillow.