The Rainbow Flag of the LGBT community will unfurl with a new shade of Gray in Greater Fort Lauderdale. Hospitality executive Richard Gray has been appointed managing director for the LGBT Market for the Greater Fort Lauderdale…
The Rainbow Flag of the LGBT community will unfurl with a new shade of Gray in Greater Fort Lauderdale. Hospitality executive Richard Gray has been appointed managing director for the LGBT Market for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. In his new position, Gray will be responsible for LGBT sales and marketing.
“Richard has been one of the most experienced and influential individuals in Greater Fort Lauderdale gay tourism and hospitality, and it is a great win for us to have him part of the team,” said Nicki E. Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. “For us the LGBT market is not a niche market but a market in its own right. With Richard’s background as both a local proprietor and advocate for LGBT travel and tourism in the region, we feel the timing is right to make this next important step for us and this destination.”
Gray will serve as official representative for the LGBT market in Greater Fort Lauderdale, developing and implementing short and long term strategic plans to increase meeting room nights and global travel and tourism.
As a CVB that tries to stay ahead of the curve, Greater Fort Lauderdale has been and continues to be a cutting edge and aggressive CVB enjoying many “firsts” in the LGBT market. The GFLCVB was the first CVB in the US to launch an LGBT campaign in 1996, and today is the first to have a designated LGBT-only person to court the LGBT group/meetings, travel and tourism markets, as well as oversee a “gaystream” marketing initiative including a “gaystream” TV commercial, another first for a CVB.
Gray founded The Royal Palms Resort & Spa in 1991 and helped spearhead Greater Fort Lauderdale’s status as one of the leading LGBT travel destinations in the country. He was first appointed to Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Marketing Advisory Committee in 2003, and has served on several other high-level committees in the past, including the Broward Country Cultural Council in 2004, and the VISIT FLORIDA’s LGBT committee in 2003. He was also an Executive Board Member of the Rainbow Carpet Lodging & Hospitality Alliance.
Gray served as Vice Chair of the Broward County Tourist Development Council and Chair of its Marketing Advisory Committee. He served as Member of the State of Florida Marketing Committee, 2004 – 2007; Executive Board Member and Founding Member of the South Florida Rainbow Alliance; President and Founding Member of World’s Foremost Gay & Lesbian Hotels, 2003; Executive Board Member of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, 1993 – 2000; and Founding Member, Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Community Center.