This couple works to create a safe haven for queer, nonwhite travelers
This couple works to create a safe haven for queer, nonwhite travelers
Amber Drew says that while traveling abroad with her wife, she didn’t always feel comfortable.
“We were in places we had to often be ‘sisters’ or ‘cousins,'” she said. “So you know, it adds an extra layer of unease to a vacation when you’re supposed to be the most relaxed.”
Instead of accepting a life with limited travel options, she and her wife came up with a business proposal: bed and breakfast pop-up experiences catering to travelers of color, queer travelers of color and their allies. They called it the Apogeo Collective and imagined it going global.
Getting it going took some rethinking, though.
“The pandemic kind of shut down that idea at the time. But when we were in San Juan del Sur, [Nicaragua] we found some really great opportunities to actually become a homeowner. And we were like, ‘Maybe this is the place,'” Drew said.
The collective, now in its second year, is open for business to travelers.
“You know, one thing is that we essentially find a home in each of us, and we’re like, ‘Let’s connect folks who may not have had the opportunity to connect before,'” she said.
Tell us your real estate or housing story using the form below, and you may be featured on a future edition of “Adventures in Housing.”
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
