Room and Board – Men Need not Apply

A hotel in the UK (Bow - East London) has created a separate wing that is designed exclusively for the female traveler.  Click here for the story.

It is a great idea to add amenities that are attractive to the growing number of female travelers – however isn’t it wrong to segregate them in a completely separate section of the hotel?

Why not just add great amenities (such as back lit mirrors, sunken bath tubs, illuminated wardrobes and extra security) to a few floors of the hotel and give that portion of the building a designation as an upgraded floor. 

All of the features described in the article could have an appeal to men as well.  I enjoy an illuminated wardrobe and extra security.  I could probably do a more thorough job when shaving if I had a back lit mirror.  In fact, I may even pay a couple of dollars more for these amenities. 

Marketing these features to women is smart.  Isolating them in a special section of the hotel – like an old English boarding school - is not.

Comments

[Holly Buchanan]

I couldn't agree more with you, Dave. The features they identified are terrific. But creating separate section is bad idea for two reasons.

One - you're going to piss off the men. Any time you do a woman only area - you better make darn sure there's a REALLY good reasaon for it - i.e. health issues unique to women -separate area of hospital. In today's society - if you segregrate out one group, you exclude another - bad idea unless you can really justify it.

Two - I don't believe women travelers (a HUGE market opportunity by the way) want to feel segregrated either. Besides, how does the hotel know if it's a woman traveler? What if her name is "Pat Jones". How do you know that someone making the reservation is a woman? If you ask flat out, it sounds like an invasion of privacy.

I like your suggestion - create an "upgraded" floor that offers all these amenities and offer it to everyone.