Author: Alfredo Casuso

Sonders & Beach Launches World’s First AI-Powered LGBTQ+ Travel Index

Written on July 9, 2024.

media contact:
David Perry & Associates, Inc / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Sonders & Beach Launches World’s First AI-Powered LGBTQ+ Travel Index To Analyze and Rate LGBTQ+ Friendly Destinations, Hotels and Operators

Index Enhances Company’s ‘QueerVadis’ LGBTQ+ Certification Program for the Travel and Hospitality Industry

9 July 2024 – San Francisco, CA: International travel and hospitality provider Sonders & Beach has introduced the travel industry’s first AI-powered LGBTQ+ Index. Designed in collaboration with technology provider The Data Appeal, the index analyzes online contents, comments, and user reviews for destinations, hotels, and operators to provide real-time ratings based on gender and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The Index is the latest enhancement to Sonders & Beach’s QueerVadis LGBTQ+ Accreditation and Certification program. It serves as a critical tool for members to compare their services against competitors, strengthen their offerings to the LGBTQ+ community, and better address customer needs to improve their travel experience.

A $200 Billion Industry
LGBTQ+ travel is a powerful and influential part of the global tourism industry. World-wide, it is a $200 billion industry and comprises more than 10 per cent of all travelers. In Europe, there were 67 million LGBTQ+ tourist arrivals in 2023. This represents an economic value of 55 billion euros and a 27.9 % growth over the previous year, according to the European LGBTQ+ Travel Alliance (ELTA).

ELTA, which offers an annual platform for industry leaders and institutions to discuss inclusive travel in Europe, held its recent meeting in Brussels, Belgium under the high patronage of the European Parliament. Focusing on the general state of LGBTQ+ tourism, participants included major players such as AccorHotels, BestWestern, EasyJet, European Travel Commission, Sojern, ENIT, Visit Malta, Visit Brussels, and ECTAA (European Travel Agency & Tour Operator Association).

Minimizing ‘Pink Washing’
Alessio Virgili, CEO & Founder of the Sonders & Beach Group, is also president of ELTA. At the meeting, he observed the importance of encouraging companies to adopt more inclusive policies that better align with Europe’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity goals. He called for an end to the practice of “pink washing,” in which companies describe themselves inclusive without actually adopting DEI policies that are verifiable by a third party.

“The growing power of the LGBTQ+ consumer in travel offers a valuable opportunity for companies to adopt inclusive policies through more dedicated training and internationally recognized certifications,” said Virgili. “Destinations must take concrete actions that guarantee a safe and inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community beyond merely referencing them for marketing purposes.”

According to Virgili, initiatives like Sonders & Beach’s QueerVadis LGBTQ+ Certification program, now powered by AI, are essential to helping entities meet the rigorous regulatory standards and protocols necessary to ensure LGBTQ+ clients experience a respectful and fully welcoming environment.

“These certifications assure travelers that the hotels, services or destinations they are patronizing truly offers them the freedom to be themselves without fear of harassment or judgement,” he said.

AI Powered Engine
QueerVadis’ LGBTQ+ Index employs complex algorithm that, through its powerful AI engine, analyzes online content from a gender inclusivity perspective. It compares the results against competitors and suggests the best courses of action to make an organization or destination more welcoming and inclusive. Members can utilize the vast wealth of insight it generates to make more informed decisions in investments and services, and to better focus their marketing campaigns to align with LGBTQ+ clients’ expectations and the organizations’ sustainability goals. It can easily be integrated into members’ websites, platforms, software or apps. It is updated once a month to provide more up-to-the-minute readings of reputation and trends, to help members track in real-time the effectiveness of their actions.

Competitive Advantage
The unique, third-party verified QueerVadis certification is becoming increasingly important for the tourism industry.

“It demonstrates compliance with ESG criteria for a wide range of organizations that include B Corps, publicly traded companies, companies seeking investment, or those pursuing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Virgili.

He added: “It should not be underestimated that OTAs, such as Booking.com, are finally starting to consider only third-party certifications as ‘valid’ for identifying a truly sustainable businesses.”

Growing Membership
Current QueerVadis-accredited/certified members include the UNA Hotels Group, Leonardo Hotels, Italian Tourism Agency (ENIT), Best Western, the Municipality of Milan, and the Municipality of Crema, among others. Leonardo Hotels Central Europe, headquartered in Berlin, is responsible for a hotel portfolio in countries that include Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain and Italy. The portfolio encompasses 84 hotels in 37 regions with more than 14,500 rooms.

About Sonders & Beach
Sonders & Beach, a Benefit Corporation that places social and environmental values on an equal footing with profits, was founded in 2002. It is the first integrated tourism group in Italy, based also in US, that operates throughout the supply chain according to criteria of sustainability and social inclusion. It is committed to creating unique travel experiences, characterized by the freedom of travelers to be themselves within a safe, secure and inclusive environment that respects and values their identify. The group, which includes Sonders & Beach hotel Management, recently opened a new LGBTQ+ Welcoming property in an art nouveau building on the sea, in the city of Santa Marinella, close to Rome (Italy), named Palazzo Moresco; Quiiky Tours, creator of the Untold History Tours (Vatican Museum in a Gay Light; On the Movie Sets of The White Lotus TV Serie); QuiikyMagazine, a print and digital travel and lifestyle magazine with an LGBTQ + theme; Sonders & Beach Academy & Advising, which operates training courses on diversity, revenue and marketing management; and the QueerVadis Certification Program, which is dedicated to the enhancement of diversity and social inclusion. Sonders & Beach is a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), the International Gay and Lesbian Tourism Association (IGLTA), Italian LGBTQ+ Tourism Board, ELTA European LGBTQ+ Travel Alliance. and support Free & Equal program of the United Nations and ECPAT. For more information, visit https://sondersworld.com/.

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9 Months and the Children Are Not Here

Written on July 4, 2024.

media contacts
Omer Tuval
+ 972 52-222-0936

Or Moshe
+ 972 50-831-0665
media@bringthemhomenow.net

Media Advisory from the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters

Invitation to Cover: Mothers’ March

9 Months and the Children Are Not Here

Friday, July 5, 1pm

HaBima Square

Tel Aviv, Israel

For 9 months, they carried them in their wombs, anticipating their arrival into the world. For 9 months, they’ve been in Gaza, with mothers longing for their return home.

This coming Friday, dozens of mothers of hostages will lead a march from HaBima Square to the Hostages Square, where a ceremony of mothers’ outcry will take place.

Mothers and families of the hostages invite the public to join them in marching and calling for the return of 120 hostages who have been held captive by Hamas in Gaza for 9 months – the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial.

Schedule:

1:00 PM – Gathering at HaBima Square and statements by mothers of hostages

1:30 PM – March begins

2:00 PM – Short ceremony led by actress Yael Abecassis, featuring musician Corinne Allal

_____________

The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters

Anthony Turney – Eulogy

Written on July 4, 2024.

Anthony Turney: December 23, 1937 – July 4, 2014

A Eulogy, offered by David Perry

“The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend.”

The words of Henry David Thoreau: written in the front of a journal that Anthony gifted me with. Over 30 years, I was blessed and challenged to experience that friendship. All of you here, have experienced that friendship too, and each in a uniquely Anthony way. Anthony made an impression on each of you: on everyone he met. Once at a party I referred to Anthony as my mentor to which he replied: “Don’t call me that. It makes me sound so old.” After that, I just started referring to him as my “longest serving friend.”

Anthony Turney cut quite the swath. The voice. The poise. The devastating good looks. Upon meeting Anthony as he interviewed for his position at San Francisco Opera, Terry McKewn, Opera general director and somewhat of a flirt remarked to him: “if you have half a brain, you’ve got the job.” He needn’t have worried. Anthony’s intellect was staggering: with an ability to lead and analyze that was incredible to see in action.

Anthony was Courageous. Complex. Compassionate, but often capricious and sometimes honest to the point of near brutality. Someone once said that the five scariest words in the English language were Anthony saying “dear, we need to talk.” He loved giving sermons: from the pulpit and also from his living room couch. But above all Anthony was generous, loving and loyal.

His wit was sharp, often self-deprecating and sometimes completely inappropriate. When our friend Felipe was cremated last year, Anthony whispered to me in the midst of the crematorium, “Be careful when they shove me into the fire. You’ll be advised to stand far back.” A joke he once told at a political colleague’s roast in Washington, DC resulted in the entire table from Utah leaving in horror. I can’t repeat the joke here, but see me at the reception following. Once at the gym, Anthony observed someone wearing a less than flattering workout outfit. His comment: “Some things you should stop wearing at 40. Actually some things you should stop wearing at 35.” Of course, I was the person wearing the outfit.

Anthony enjoyed crosswords, vodka martinis, cheap Italian white wine, and Chitos: “My indulgences,” he called them. He was horrible at charades but repeatedly brought down the house with his memorable interpretation of Stephen Sondheim’s “I’m still here” from “Follies.” His stories were delicious, his cooking — not so much, although he did master an exquisite coq-au-vin and his British trifle — well, it was nothing with which to trifle. He loved disco dancing, cruising aboard ship and lighthouses. But, most of all, he loved his family and friends.

Anthony was out as a gay man long before it was wise or safe to do so. He brought that integrity into his church, into this Cathedral, and all are better for it. Anthony lost two great loves — Jimmy Brumbaugh & Luay Albazi — to AIDS and dozens of friends. Because of Anthony, millions of people experienced the power of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and because of Anthony the AIDS Interfaith Chapel gives comfort and tribute to countless people here in Grace Cathedral. Three times he biked from San Francisco to Los Angeles as part of the AIDS LifeCycle and blessed Alfredo and me from his hospice bed before we did it, in his honor, last month. I’m convinced it is the reason we didn’t have one flat in the entire 545 miles.

Anthony greatly admired Somerset Maugham’s ‘The Razor’s Edge’, especially the film into which it was made. It chronicles the life of a WWI veteran who returns, shattered, by what he has seen in the trenches and devotes the rest of his life to seeking a higher truth. In the trenches as Anthony had been fighting AIDS discrimination, homophobia and injustice. There’s a quote near the beginning of the film that, I believe, honors Anthony as well.

“The man I am writing about is not famous. It may be that he never will be. It may be that when his life at last comes to an end he will leave no more trace of his sojourn on earth than a stone thrown into a river leaves on the surface of the water. But it may be that the way of life that he has chosen for himself and the peculiar strength and sweetness of his character may have an ever-growing influence over his fellow men so that, long after his death perhaps, it may be realized that there lived in this age a very remarkable creature.”

Come on up and Sit a Spell!

Written on July 2, 2024.

media contact:
David Perry & Associates, Inc / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Come on up and Sit a Spell!

Saturday, September 21 Is the First Annual Porchfest Benicia:
A Celebration of Music, Community, and History
www.porchfest-benicia.com

2 July 2024, Benicia, CA: Is there anything friendlier than a front porch with a view? The folks at Benicia Magazine (https://www.beniciamagazine.com) are inviting, well, everyone to come down to the Bay’s historic and charming town and see for themselves on Saturday, September 21 (1pm – 5pm) at the inaugural Porchfest Benicia (www.porchfest-benicia.com). A vibrant and community-driven music festival, the first annual Porchfest Benicia will transform the charming porches of Benicia’s vintage homes and the bustling storefronts of First Street into lively stages for a diverse lineup of musical performances, art and interactive family-friendly experiences.

“Come on up and sit a spell,” quipped Mary Hand, publisher of Benicia Magazine and the visionary who is spearheading the event. “Those of us who live, love and labor in Benicia know what a hiding-in-plain-sight gem our little town is. We want to re-introduce it to the world, especially our neighbors around the Bay.”

Porchfest is an annual celebration that began in Ithaca, New York, in 2007, and has since spread across the United States and Canada. It brings together local musicians and community members to showcase their talents on front porches, storefronts, and driveways, promoting a sense of community and pride.

“Benicia, known for its artistic spirit and historic charm, is the perfect new host for this beloved tradition,” Hand continues. “Porchfest is more than just a music festival. It’s a celebration of community, creativity, and the unique character of our town. We’re blessed with talented musicians and beautiful porches, making Benicia the ideal setting for this joyous event. This festival is our way of sharing the spirit of Benicia through music, inviting both locals and visitors to experience the warmth and charm of our community.”

Porchfest Benicia will feature live music from an array of genres including country, rock, pop, reggae, blues, jazz, Latin, R&B, and folk. Attendees can stroll from one beautiful vintage home to another, as well as enjoy performances at various First Street venues. In total, between eight and ten porches along with eight First Street locations will host musical acts, ranging from local favorites to artists from beyond Benicia plus 18 bands.

Adding to the festivities, local shops will offer special Porchfest deals, and restaurants will prepare “To Go” boxes for festival-goers to enjoy as they wander from porch to porch. This family-friendly event will also see the Benicia High School Band serving as “roadies” for the bands and performing during the day, with volunteers, affectionately called “groupies,” assisting throughout the festival.

Benicia Mayor Steve Young expressed his enthusiasm: “Porchfest Benicia is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the beauty and spirit of our town. It’s a celebration that aligns perfectly with Benicia’s tradition of community engagement and artistic expression. We invite everyone to join us in this unique celebration of music and community, experiencing firsthand what makes Benicia such a special place.”

To ensure a smooth and enriching experience, off-site parking will be available with shuttles transporting visitors to the event. As a special touch, docents from the Museum of History Benicia will narrate the rich history of our town during the shuttle rides. A trolley will also circulate along First Street, providing stories about Benicia’s vintage homes. Maps and schedules will be distributed to guide attendees through the day’s activities. Maps are interactive and can be downloaded via QR code online via the Porch Fest website.

Porchfest Benicia is a free event open to all ages, with optional VIP tickets offering enhanced experiences for those looking to enjoy even more of what the festival has to offer. VIP tickets are available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/porchfest-benicia-tickets-936906621927?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Nestled on the Carquinez Strait, Benicia is a city rich in history and culture, known for its vibrant arts scene, historic architecture, and welcoming community. Porchfest Benicia aims to highlight the best of what the city has to offer, blending music, history, and local flavor into a memorable celebration for all.

A Free Community Wellness Festival & Celebrity Kickball Game

Written on June 21, 2024.

media contact: David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

KICK BULLYING TO THE CURB:
A Free Community Wellness Festival & Celebrity Kickball Game

Saturday, September 28: 10am – 3pm

Palm Springs Power Stadium

Free admission and parking. Free food and drink.
Free activities for youth and families

24 June 2024 – Palm Springs, CA: The acclaimed nonprofit Boo2Bullying (www.boo2bullying.org) — providing outreach, mentoring, inspiration and hope to bullied youth and their families — is celebrating its 2nd Annual Kick Bullying To The Curb, Wellness Festival on Saturday, September 28 (10am–3pm) in the Palm Springs Power Stadium in Sunrise Park (480 S. Sunrise Way). Everything is FREE for youth and adult attendees thanks to generous Sponsors and Community Partners. Registration begins at 10am. Advance registration is recommended at https://boo2bullying.org/events/

From 10am. until 1pm, Boo2Bullying and Community Partner organizations will host information tables/booths and family-friendly activities, DJ, glitter bracelets, balloon animals and face-painting for children. Festival-goers will also be treated to a “Petting Zoo and Cool Critters” show by the Mobile Zoo of Southern California and free hot dogs, nachos, icy lemonade and more at the ultra-fun Blue Truck Mobile Snack Bar and Atomic Game Truck.

From 10am – 1pm, attendees will engage in activities for all youth, families and community allies including the Palm Springs Unified Districts. At noon, the action shifts to the Palm Springs Power Stadium field where Coachella Valley notables and out-of-town celebrities will compete in Boo2Bullying’s “2nd Annual Kick Bullying to the Curb” game. A special guest singer will sing the National Anthem followed by a team of Hollywood actors and A-Listers, all to be announced in the coming days.

Sponsor underwriters of Boo2Bullying and this event are the City of Palm Springs, BIGHORN Cares Foundation, Contour Dermatology, and the Palm Springs Unified School District’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Tony Signoret, who will also be playing in the “Celebrity Kickball Tournament” as Captain of “Team Palm Springs”.

A partial list of Community Partners participating in the Wellness Festival includes the City of Palm Springs Parks & Recreation Department, Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs, First Tee-Coachella Valley, Gay for Good, The LGBTQ Community Center, and Transgender Health & Wellness Center, The Bianca Group, Guru Magazine with more to be announced in the coming weeks.

The mission of Boo2Bullying is to provide outreach, mentoring, inspiration and hope to bullied youth and their families. The nonprofit organization founded in 2013 provides free programs in schools and community organization settings and online over social media platforms. Mental health is enhanced when children and teens feel empowered, build their self-esteem, realize they are not alone, and discover that they have a voice and are capable of standing against bullying to create positive change. For information about scheduling a Boo2Bullying program in your school or community organization, contact Dimitri Halkidis at (310) 435-8528 or dimitrihalkidis@boo2bullying.org.