Opinion – Guia Negro: When will hotels understand that they need training to serve black people?

“In a racist society, it’s not enough not to be racist, you have to be anti-racist”. The phrase of the American philosopher Angela Davis sets the tone for the importance of having pro-diversity actions in all sectors. But in tourism, the hotel chain seems to close its eyes to the so-called structural racism and does little to train and make its teams and operations more diverse. And, in this case, there is something even more serious, as it is not even possible to say that Brazilian hotels are not racist, as cases of racial discrimination are frequent.

The fight against racism in Brazil is closely linked to the sector. The Afonso Arinos Law of 1951, the first to prohibit racial discrimination in Brazil, was proposed after an incident with North American ballerina Katherine Dunham, who was prevented from staying in a luxury hotel in São Paulo because she was black. Since then, the laws to combat racism have advanced, as well as cases of discrimination within these spaces that should welcome, but end up reproducing the racism that is throughout society.

It’s interesting because there are hotels with rainbow flags, indicating they are LGBT-friendly; with signage for wheelchair users, showing that they are accessible; and even with signs that indicate that they are pet friendly; but I don’t see the same intention in being a black fliendly, recognizing that they have undergone training and that they will not only know how to treat black and black clients, but also act in cases of racism within them.

A frequent argument by hotels for not hiring specific consultants on racial issues is saying that they treat all people the same. By taking this position, they are showing that they do not want to understand structural racism and reproduce it, making all the inequality of standards and treatment that black people are subjected to. To change this scenario, diversity consulting has been a necessary path. Diaspora.Black, for example, created a seal that certifies spaces that are prepared to receive a diverse population. About 300 establishments have already participated in the training that lasts up to 16 hours. “Racism is structural and deconstruction involves training and changing attitudes”, says Carlos Humberto Silva, founder of Diaspora.Black.

The training offered goes through managers and employees and the seal certifies the hotel’s commitment to new approaches. “It’s not an ‘I’m not racist’ seal, it’s a commitment”, he says, noting that the consultancy has been in existence since 2018 and that the search movement decreased in the pandemic when the sector was directly affected. “There is still reduced interest, when we think that tourism is managed by white, older, elitist men who still do not care about combating racism”, he considers.

Diversity is still a differential in the market and establishments that prepare to receive the black public have a greater possibility of operating in this market. “Whoever fails to look at this group, has limited growth within the tourism market, as it loses 56% of the Brazilian population”.

The afrotourism collective, which brings together companies such as Guia Negro, Brafrika, Sou Mais Carioca, TN – Turismo Operacional Strategies and Bitonga Travel, has also been working with consultancies and debates on diversity in the sector. One of the members is Hubber Clemente, hotelier, member of the Afrotourism collective and founder of the Afroturismo Hub. He points out that he has been working in the area for 23 years and that to this day he realizes that black people cannot enter a hotel safe in the knowledge that they will not suffer racism. “Even so, we still see denial and omission of the sector in relation to structural racism and its effects. There are no preventive measures and actions are superficial”, he considers, remembering that the large networks seem to believe that structural racism will be resolved organically.

Another point highlighted is the lack of representation in hotels and the need for specific training for the hotel industry. “One of the principles of hospitality is to welcome and be the person’s second home. How can a black person feel good if that place doesn’t offer any kind of security that there won’t be racism”, he asks, adding a question that I leave for hotels to reflect and act: “Are you going to wait for another case to happen to take action?”.