On October 4th, 200 brides entered the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, but came out as 100 married couples. The event, San Diego’s largest mass same sex wedding todate, was organized jointly by the Hard Rock Hotel and Olivia Travel, a company which arranges, in their own words, ”lesbian cruises, lesbian resorts and lesbian vacations.” Photo copyrights - Tarsadia Hotels.

“We partnered with Olivia Companies nearly a year ago to begin coordinating this exciting event - it’s no small task to plan individual dream weddings for two hundred brides,” said Matt Greene, general manager of Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, in a press statement. “However, this was an extremely joyous and monumental occasion and we are so proud that Hard Rock Hotel San Diego was chosen as the site for these weddings. We wish each one of these newly-married couples the very best in their futures together.”

Following the ceremony and a lavish reception, the newlyweds - some who have been together for over 30 years - immediately embarked on a week-long Mexican Riveira and honeymoon cruise aboard Holland America’s new vista-class ship, the ‘ms Oosterdam’.

During the cruise, the brides will enjoy an onboard commitment ceremony, champagne reception and will be joined by tennis legend Billie Jean King and LPGA star Rosie Jones. They’ll be strolling the quaint cobblestone streets of Puerto Vallarta, relaxing on a powdery beach in Mazatlan, visiting the hillside villages of the Sierra Madres or photographing “Los Arcos,” the dramatic rock formation where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. Photo copyrights - The Olivia Companies, LLC.

This same sex marriage ruling never really struck me as that big a deal, considering it was just a stamp on an already acceptable and mainstream lifestyle in most of California. Yeah, it does have symbolic value and maybe a coupla tax benefits, but still…. But apparently its still a big deal for San Diego hotels. You’ll remember some time back I wrote about a little kerfuffle at the Manchester Hyatt San Diego, with GLBT activists picketing the hotel and calling for its boycott, because the owner, Doug Manchester, was bankrolling a ballot proposal which would have reversed the same sex ruling.   

And of course, what both these incidents demonstrate is that same sex marriages mean big bucks, especially to the hospitality and travel industries. You can see how the tourism bureaus in California are pushing their destinations for same sex marriages here. Only difference, in this case, is that the Hard Rock Hotel is raking in the dough, while the Manchester Hyatt is losing business.

Posted on October 7th, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: Hotels, San Diego