Care for HER safety
Security, safety and discretion are of utmost importance to female guests. You as hotelier can make us women feel safe by offering (among other things) secure on-site parking, allocating us in rooms close to lifts and not on the ground floor, illuminating your hallways well, double-locking hotel doors, manning your reception 24/7 and making sure your receptionists are not announcing room numbers out loud.
Some hotels go the extra mile and offer all-female staff support which escort solo female travellers to their room or deliver room service to them. Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotel in Chicago takes it one step further. The hotel features special privacy doors allowing female travellers to order room service and having it conveniently delivered to the room – all without the need to interact with the hotel staff.
Upgrade your rooms for HER
Cornell Center for Hospitality* found that women are more concerned about getting a good night’s sleep than their male counterparts. This implies that to improve female guest satisfaction, your mattresses should be adjustable in firmness and with high-quality hypoallergenic bedding. Offering a pillow menu is another highlight (oh yes, thanks to Savvy Sleepers there are even anti-aging satin pillowcases available to prevent wrinkles and hair breakage).
Women (and not just the women!) enjoy living a healthy lifestyle. You can improve their travel experience with some in-room workout facilities and yoga mats; offer the possibility of in-room spa treatments as well as provide great coffee and an enticing herbal tea selection.
Choose an upscale skin care line, have a full-length mirror in the room as well as an enlarged and well-lit magnification make-up mirror. Ensure there are cotton pads available, enough wardrobe space with skirt hangers, satin-padded hangers and why not even a sliding show rack (think of all the Jimmy Choo’s that would thank you for it ;-)?
Last but not least, get slippers and bathrobes in the right sizes and remove the gigantic sizes from the room. Have towels that are big enough to be used as hair-drying turbans and high-powered hair dryers. Another hint: curling irons and hair straighteners will truly win your female guests' hearts – we promise you!
PS: A small but important side note for all hotels and resorts in romantic destinations: when a female solo traveller (applicable to male solo travellers as well) checks in, please check your in-room communication and facilities. Remove the invitation for romantic couple dinners and treatments, and exchange them with relaxation and detox offers (or whatever you have prepared for your solo travellers). Remove the second pair of slippers, bathrobes and amenities in general. Make them feel that the room is perfect for one – they will appreciate it.
Tailor your food & beverage offering to HER
It’s commonplace for hotels to offer healthy menu choices throughout the day that are nutritionally balanced, as well as a beverage selection that includes infused waters, fresh juices, etc. To make a greater impact, think about offering smaller portions for female guests, so that they can enjoy an appetizer and a dessert as well.
Make an effort in your restaurants to offer your lone female diners the option between joining a communal dining table or a discreet corner table, so that they feel comfortable and at ease.
One more thing: taking care of your female travellers' needs does not mean segregating them from other guests. We are not fans of women-only floors, gyms or spas in hotels. Instead, we believe that the adjustments we mention in this blog post won’t disturb but be appreciated by many other guests as well, regardless of gender.
Talk to HER
As we all know, women are different. So is their use of technology while booking and travel planning, as well as on social media platforms. Important to keep in mind is that they love to share travel intelligence and are big into rating hotels.
Make an effort to tailor and target your communication on your website and social media channels to your female guests, and mention the facilities and services you offer especially for HER.
One last thing that is dear to our hearts and we really want to emphasise is hotel photography. Long gone are the days when women appear in ads and photographs simply as the sweet companion of greying, successful (travelling) men. Show (and you’ll automatically reach out to) real women, independent business-women, female artists, single moms – feature the female buyer persona you would like to welcome in your hotel.
Women will appreciate the extra attention you give them. Take their needs into consideration and they will turn into loyal customers and come back again and again.
We hope this blog post has given you some useful insights and information. Now we are excited to hear from you: What do you believe female travellers need? Which hotel have you been to where they truly tailored the experience to female guests? Thanks for sharing!
Your MAp team
*Brownell, J. (2011). Creating value for women business travellers: Focusing on emotional outcomes. Cornell Hospitality Report, 11(12), 6-17.
ke time for prosecco