Pride Month is in full swing here in Wake County, and GRCVB is celebrating alongside Raleigh Pride's slate of events and this weekend's Out! Raleigh Pride with resources for incoming LGBTQ travelers.

Through sharing LGBTQ shopping options to nightlife and dining, GRCVB wants all visitors, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, to feel welcome in Raleigh and Wake County.

For area accommodation partners, the Bureau offers an opportunity to inform travelers that your business either is LGBTQ-owned or is registered on visitRaleigh.com's LGBTQ-Welcoming Hotels page.

To qualify for GRCVB's LGBTQ-Welcoming Hotels Program, lodging partners must certify that their management and staff are abiding by the following:

• Sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy
• Gender identity nondiscrimination policy
• Equal administration of personnel benefits
• Diversity training
• Significant harm policy.

After acknowledging and/or showing proof of these criteria being in place, Wake County lodging partners will have their Places to Stay listing added to the LGBTQ-Welcoming Hotels webpage (no additional fees or advertising rates involved). We'd love to show off the inclusive welcomes provided year-round by our hospitality partners even more, and we especially encourage all 160 hotel partners to complete the program paperwork.

If you are an area hotelier wishing to participate and attract more bookings this year or an LGBTQ owner of another hospitality-facing business in Raleigh and Wake County, let us know! We'd love to add this recognition to our Pride webpages being promoted to arriving visitors. For the opportunity to make listing updates now, please contact GRCVB marketing manager Andrew Baker, CGSP^®, and he will share via email or PIXL the simple process.

Happy Pride!

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^{Photo by Triangle Blvd/Damon Butler}