For years as an Airbnb host, Robert Geller faced a seemingly innocuous—but sometimes awkward—question from his guests. “What do you do for a living?” they’d ask.
Geller owns a gay travel company called Outings and Adventures. And although he runs his business with pride, he worried about how his guests would receive this information.
“I would always wonder if I should be myself and tell the truth,” he said. “What will their reaction be? Is their jaw going to hit the ground? Is it going to be awkward while they’re staying in my home for the next four nights?”
So last year Geller decided to launch FabStayz, a platform that lets hosts on Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway promote their short-term rental properties as LGBTQ friendly. FabStayz pulls data directly from the host’s main platform, transferring photos, details and house rules, as well as syncing calendar availability. Guests can browse and book rentals through the FabStayz website, which uses a map and layout similar to Airbnb’s.
There are other popular LGBTQ friendly platforms out there, such as misterb&b and Pink Vacation Rentals. But Geller says he designed FabStayz to be easier for hosts to connect with guests across platforms because they don’t have to recreate a new listing.
This similarity to Airbnb is a selling point for FabStayz, but it caused Geller some trouble when he first started to launch the idea. Last August, he received a cease and desist from Airbnb for a series of URLs he purchased with names like AirbnbforLGBT.com and MoreAirbnbBookings.com. Geller said he and the hospitality giant have since hashed out their differences.
FabStayz incorporated in January and launched its beta version in June. For early adopters, hosts pay an annual subscription fee to FabStayz based on their property’s average nightly rate. Geller said 500 hosts have registered on the platform.
So far Geller has self-funded FabStayz and said he has invested well over $100,000 in developing the platform and technology.
Geller said his primary goal is making sure the platform is inclusive for everyone, not just geared towards gay men but everyone in the LGBTQ community.
“Our brand represents every letter in the acronym LGBTQ+,” he said. “I want to make sure the FabStayz brand is always viewed as welcoming to the entire community.”
