Richard Gray: Gay Tourism Pioneer Continues to Make Waves

Richard Gray: Gay Tourism Pioneer Continues to Make Waves
Royal Palms Owner Helped Create the Area’s Gay Tourism Market
By Bill Hawkins
When Richard Gray opened his Royal
Palms Resort just steps from Fort Lauderdale
Beach 10 years ago, he said he wanted to
“make a difference” in gay travel.
And he’s done just that.
While guesthouses have come and
gone, Royal Palms is the oldest continuous
gay resort in Fort Lauderdale.
From only five gay guesthouses 10
years ago, there are now 28 with Gray setting
the benchmark in first class quality to which
all have aspired.
Gray had the first gay business to ever
be honored by the City of Fort Lauderdale
when it presented it’s 1993 “City
Beautification Award” for Royal Palms’ lush
landscaping.
The Royal Palms has won every major
award for excellence in gay travel including
the annual “Five Palm Award” from Out &
About’s travel picks.
Gray was the first local to be named, in
1993, to the International Gay and Lesbian
Travel Association’s board and served six
years as treasurer. In that capacity, he helped
promote Fort Lauderdale as a gay
destination and helped host an international
gay travel convention. He also helped move
IGLTA’s headquarters to Fort Lauderdale.
Gray pioneered gay tourism promotion
through the Greater Fort Lauderdale
Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, which
today earmarks strong financial and
marketing backing to an international gay
campaign resulting in more than 650,000 gay
tourists annually – spending $650 million
locally.
• Gray is one of the first gay
businessmen to sit on the Greater Fort
Lauderdale Lodging and Hospitality
Association and founded its gay
liaison group, the Rainbow Carpet
Lodging and Hospitality Alliance,
which spends $500,000 annually to
promote gay Fort Lauderdale
worldwide.
“When I started in this
business, I didn’t know what to
expect or how to even go about some
things,” Gray said. “But I learned –
fast – and have enjoyed it
tremendously.”
Born in England and involved
with investment banking for many of
his early adult years, Gray moved to
New York City 18 years ago and took
a vacation trip to Fort Lauderdale. It
was instant love.
“I really liked the climate and met
Robert [Clayton] who became my
mentor,” Gray explained. He and
Clayton shuttled back between New
York City and Fort Lauderdale until
Gray decided it was time to move here
in May 1991.
Three months later, he bought
an old motel, El Terramar at 2901
Terramar St., and began his vision of
what a top gay resort should be.
“I had discovered in my own travels
very few gay lodgings offering quality
service and accommodations,” explained
Gray. “The one that stood out was the Oasis
Guesthouse in Key West and its owner, the
late Graeme Smith, who helped me
tremendously get started. I used the top
level of service he was providing as a
blueprint of what I wanted for Royal Palms.”
When the resort opened in October 1991
Richard Gray
Richard Gray
with nine rooms (it now has 12), it had all the
ingredients for success.
“We spared nothing in making the
gardens lush, the rooms comfortable and
going out of our way to make our guests
feel they were staying in a friendly, luxury
resort,” Gray noted. “I’m a stickler for detail
and our entire staff follows that principle.”
Details mean changing décor every so
often because Gray said not only “do I get
bored, but I think guests like to see
something different in the rooms.”
Gray also loves the lush gardens
surrounding the pool and spa. He
has more than 1,000 orchids offering
splashes of color amidst dozens of
tropical plants, statues and
waterfalls.
More than 10,000 different
visitors have stayed at the Royal
Palms from more than two dozen
countries and Gray credits his link
with the IGLTA with having built not
only new business associates, but
long-lasting personal friendships.
“Gay travel has come a long way
and it was exciting to be on the
cutting edge of its growth and
expansion,” he said.
“For Fort Lauderdale to
continue to succeed as a gay
destination, all gay businesses here
have to remember that when we sell
Fort Lauderdale first, we will all
benefit,” he explained. “When
tourists visit here, we need to make
sure their stay is positive and they
go home happy.”
And the usual business-driven
Gray admits he’s finally happy with
himself.
With 75 percent of his business now
repeat or word of mouth, Gray is taking life
at a much slower pace.
“I’ve reached a plateau now,” Gray said,
noting pleasure with his three-year
relationship with Raymond Kelly. “I’m very
happy and content and glad that I have been
able to contribute in some way to making a
difference in gay life here.”
www.ExpressGayNews.com • October 22nd, 2001
CYMK
15