Booking.com Announces the Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience
Booking.com offers one lucky pair a bookable two-night stay in a one-of-a-kind Pride-inspired room at the historic Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam, including an exclusive agenda featuring welcome cocktails with drag icon Envy Peru and VIP viewing access.
AMSTERDAM -To mark the return of Amsterdam Pride’s famous floating Canal Parade in 2022, which is celebrating its 25th edition this year, Booking.com - as part of its mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, no matter who they love or how they identify - is introducing the Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience. As General Sponsor of Pride Amsterdam and to celebrate the city’s long history of being one of the most welcoming places in the world, one lucky pair will be able to enjoy an unforgettable two-night bookable stay in a specially-created Pride-inspired roomat the Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam during the closing weekend of Amsterdam Pride on 5 and 6 August. A shimmering home-away-from-home created to reflect the beauty and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, the sophisticated styling has been designed by up-and-coming Dutch LGBTQ+ artist Eelco Hilgersom and features custom artwork commissioned for the space.
The two lucky guests will be welcomed by Peruvian-Dutch drag icon Envy Peru and kick off their epic weekend with a welcome cocktail and some friendly chit chat in the hotel’s colorful neo-pop bar, The Flying Deer. They will then be whisked away to enjoy an inclusive culinary experience at LGBTQ+ owned Eetcafé Wijmpje Beukers, including a personal welcome from one of the co-founders. Day two begins with breakfast in bed and then it’s off to where the Amstel river meets the Prinsengracht canal, the best spot in Amsterdam to take in all of the sights and sounds of the city’s colorful Canal Parade. With exclusive access to the VIP viewing deck, the revelers will be guaranteed a premium perch for the pinnacle of their Ultimate Amsterdam Pride Experience.
In addition to celebrating how far acceptance and rights have come for the LGBTQ+ community, Booking.com also aims to raise awareness of the challenges that remain and the important work that still needs to be done to make everyone feel welcome, not just while traveling, but also in daily life. According to recent Booking.com research*, 82% of LGBTQ+ travelers have experienced less than welcoming or uncomfortable experiences when traveling, with more than half (55%) having experienced discrimination, including stereotyping (28%), being stared at, laughed at or verbally abused by other travelers (18%) and/or locals (17%) during their trips. In fact, when selecting a destination for their travels, 64% report that they have to consider their safety and wellbeing as an LGBTQ+ person.
As part of the company’s mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, Booking.com launched its Travel Proud program in 2021. Designed to support the company’s accommodation partners in extending exceptional hospitality to everyone, it encourages a spirit of continuous learning, supports hospitality professionals to understand how to use the right language in every interaction and ultimately empowers them to help LGBTQ+ travelers have truly welcoming and inclusive travel experiences. The program is available globally in English, French, German and Spanish and now counts more than 10,000 Proud Certified partners recognized with the Travel Proud badge on Booking.com.
Aside from the progress being made in terms of the LGBTQ+ travel experience, equal rights for LGBTQ+ people are not guaranteed everywhere and very real barriers remain for millions in their daily lives. To support vital educational programs in the Netherlands and human rights initiatives that champion LGBTQ+ equality internationally, Booking.com is also partnering with COC Netherlands, one of the few LGBTQ+ organizations in the world with special consultative status with the United Nations and the oldest, still existing organization of its kind in the world. Booking.com is making a three-year commitment of €250,000 per year to support COC in various projects that promote emancipation, equal rights and social acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community around the world, including in the Netherlands. As an additional gesture, the custom artwork created by Eelco Hilgersom for the Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience will be donated by Booking.com to COC for them to share with an organization of their choosing.
Arjan Dijk, CMO and Senior Vice President at Booking.com: “As a member of the community myself, I’m beyond excited that after three years, Pride Amsterdam is back and that we can all celebrate the progress we’ve made, while also driving forward the work that still needs to be done to create acceptance and equality for LGBTQ+ people everywhere. I firmly believe that travel fosters increased understanding and that in making it easier for everyone to experience the world, we are playing a role in breaking down some of those barriers and bringing people closer together, no matter who they love or how they identify. The Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience offers our customers the opportunity to celebrate Pride Amsterdam in an unforgettable and meaningful way, and I’m happy that we, together with our amazing partners, can make this possible.”
Envy Peru, Booking.com Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience Ambassador: “With my drag, I actively play with gender and identity to entertain and to provoke. At the same time, no matter if I’m strutting down the runway or hosting a television program, I want to make everyone feel welcome and included. As such, Pride is my absolute favorite time of year and I’m delighted to be partnering with Booking.com to make their Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience absolutely unforgettable.”
Eelco Hilgersom, Dutch LGBTQ+ artist: “I am so proud to be part of this project and to work together with Booking.com in bringing this concept to life. The diversity of humanity is a huge inspiration for me and my work. There are so many of us on the planet, and yet each one of us is truly unique. Part of the richness of the travel experience is immersing yourself in a different culture and meeting people who perhaps see things differently from you. The more you travel, the more you realize that although there are differences, we are all part of one interconnected rainbow of humanity, distinct yet reliant on each other, whether you’re straight or part of the LGBTQ+ community. That’s what I’ve tried to capture in my work for Booking.com’s Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience - that sense of organic, fragile, shimmering beauty and the need we all have to connect, communicate and be understood.”
The two-night Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience is available for one lucky pair of bookers from Friday 5 August to Sunday 7 August, 2022 for a total of just €20.22, in honor of the return of the Canal Parade in 2022 after a three-year hiatus. The experience will become bookable exclusively on Booking.com on August 1, 2022 at 10:00 CEST
on a first come, first served basis.
For more information about the Booking.com Ultimate Pride Amsterdam Experience and to book it on August 1, visit: https://www.booking.com/hotel/nl/ultimate-pride-amsterdam-experience.html.
*Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of 5,514 LGBTQ+ travelers from Argentina (100), Australia (300), Belgium (100), Brazil (250), Canada (402), Colombia (150), Croatia (101), Denmark (100), France (500), Germany (502), Hong Kong (100), India (201), Israel (101), Italy (300), Japan (200), Mexico (151), Netherlands (250), New Zealand (100), Spain (200), Sweden (102), Taiwan (100), Thailand (100), United Kingdom (502), United States (502), Vietnam (100). The survey was taken online and took place in April & May 2022.
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