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The hotel industry is learning quickly that it takes a lot more
than a few “feminine touches” to attract women who
are traveling on business, and many are revamping their décor
and mediocre amenities as a result. Some hotels have created ‘women-only
floors,’ such as the London Hilton and Singapore’s
Gallery Hotel, ‘women-only rooms,' such as the Kempinski
Hotel Beijing and women’s only hotels, like The Wellington
in New Zealand.
In the 1960s, the Hilton chain offered "Lady Hilton" rooms
with makeup mirrors and skirt hangers. These were the days when
female business travelers were more of a rarity, an estimated 1%
as compared to the 50% today. The “Lady Hilton” rooms
from 40 years ago are nowhere near the level of services that today’s
hotels are hoping will generate the business of professional women.
The women-only floors offered by the London Hilton are now fully
equipped with surveillance cameras in the corridors, doors with
heavy-duty locks and powerful hairdryers. The Conrad International
in London offers women a private limousine service that collects
them from evening restaurant or theatre venues. It also offers
personal trainers at the gym and a four-hour turnaround of laundry
requests.
In Paris, the Hotel de Crillon offers a special women’s
package featuring things like lighter meals through room service
and glossy women’s magazines in the room. New York’s
Le Parker Meridien has a gym offering pre-natal workouts and hypnotherapy
for pregnant women.
The Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center offers four special
female traveller rooms. What sets these rooms apart are the aesthetics
and range of services. The hotel provides silk pajama and silk
slippers, additional cushions and a CD-DVD player in the room,
including a range of films and music. Beauty products like facial
and eye masks and night and day creams are available in the mini
bar, and the bathroom is equipped (of course!) with an extra strong
hairdryer.
These amenities may seen like luxury flourishes, but to women
they can be important. The surprising thing is that men like some
of these features too. Christopher J. McGinnis, author of The Unofficial
Business Traveler's Pocket Guide, says that women are making the
business traveler experience better, more comfortable and user-friendly
for men. To figure out what women want (and how men can benefit
too), hotel chains are investing in studies and forming advisory
panels of female executives.
Clearly, female business travelers expect more out of the experience
than low fat meals, extra cushions and powerful hairdryers. Women
are just as interested in productivity, business etiquette and
minimising ill health effects as any male traveller. They are also
more interested in keeping safe, as the eighty percent of women
business travelers who place security at the top of their list
show. Women look for hotels with secured, brightly lighted parking
lots or garages and closely monitored lobbies, where front desk
clerks assign them rooms fairly near elevators and never say their
room numbers out loud.
In terms of business services, women and men are no different.
Women want all the available technology necessary to be productive
and to maintain their business demands. These include desks to
work at, good lighting, high speed or wireless internet, and
a telephone all located in one area. A fully equipped telecommunications
and research centre is a desirable benefit, as is a lounge area
for business meetings
Jennifer Ziegler, senior vice president of brand management for
Holiday Inn Express, says that when Holiday Inn conducted consumer
research on how to “enhance the guest experience,” they
found that women often provided the best insights.
"The men indicate that they are already quite satisfied with
what they're getting from the hotel," Ziegler told the Harvard’s
Working Knowledge. "But we know there's so much more we could
do, so that's a little frustrating. Women see a lot more opportunity
in improving the guest experience.”
InterContinental Hotels Group, parent company of Holiday Inn Express,
recently launched its new female-focused Hotel Indigo. The first
Hotel Indigo is in Atlanta, and it includes a spa-style shower,
hard wood floors, a casual dining area, wireless internet access
in the social area, a fully equipped gym and high-speed internet
access in the rooms.
When Denver’s Hotel Teatro created it’s “Woman’s
Touch” program, it included some unique amenities for women
business travelers. The program includes: escorted guided runs,
yoga mats and props delivered to rooms upon requests, aromatherapy
baths, fountains, meditation CD’s, last minute requests for
forgotten essentials and 24 hour room service from one of Denver’s
four-star restaurants.
At Le Soleil in Vancouver, BC, three of the so-called “Elle” rooms
are designed just for women. Besides the pantyhose and fruit juices
in the minibar, they're stocked with lifestyle magazines, discount
vouchers for clothing
stores and beauty salons and information about special events around
town that women might find interesting. For $60 an hour, a woman
can hire a personal yoga instructor to come to the hotel or a jogger
to accompany her on a run. $50 to $90 will buy a personal shopper.
Female business travelers are creating an industry amongst themselves,
and any company that understands its female travelers' experiences
and wisdom is likely to succeed. No wonder the industry is polling
female guests so closely and hotels are trying to outdo each
other to cater to them.
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