How hotels are pampering the ladies
As more and more women prefer to travel solo on business or leisure, the hospitality industry is also going all out to woo women travellers by offering them perks and pampering them with special services.
Arecent
TripAdvisor survey – Summer Holiday Travel Survey – shows the Indian woman is ready to go solo with 64 per cent female respondents willing to travel alone on leisure. Also, statistics reflect an ever increasing number of women are now travelling for business, which has spawned the hotel industry to sensitise their services as per women’s needs, reorienting them to be in-tune with the industry’s international trends. Today hotels are pampering this niche segment and offering special services to make women feel not only secure but also at home.
Most hotels have incorporated free pick-up and drop services from the airport for their women travellers. Rooms are offered near elevators where it is well lit and a guard is present. Video phones to check the identity of any person seeking entry into the guest room, and screening of telephone calls, is likely to become an industry norm. But the recent, more dynamic trend has been of entire floors or rooms being dedicated for the individual woman traveller.
Says Sanjay Sharma, Complex General Manager, The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi and The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa, “We have seven dedicated rooms, one on each floor, for single woman travellers named after the Greek Goddess of Breeze - Aura. Dedicated to the chic, modern women onthe-go, these rooms are generous in size and conveniently located close to the elevators on each floor for easy access.” The Aura rooms are serviced by female associates only for elevated security of the single female travelers, he adds.
The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi features 313 keys, including seven Aura rooms. Regarding the business generated by these exclusive women rooms, Sharma states, “There is definitely a trend of women, especially single women travellers on leisure and business trips, using these rooms. They account for 16 per cent of our hotel’s total business. Not just this, but their per capita spend during the stay is 35-40 per cent more than the average spend of their male counterparts.”
Reiterates Pranay Verdia, Director- Operations, Jaipur Marriott Hotel, “Women do not just seek comfort and security in their hotel rooms, but, they also expect the finer things in life. Single women guests are now being considered as an important client category for our hotel.” Jaipur Marriott Hotel ensures that the guest is tracked right from the moment the reservation is made with special VIP code to their arrival and then through their stay until they depart. “We ensure the complete patrolling of the floor through the day and night. Especially, when a single lady checks in, the list is shared with the Loss Prevention department ( Security Department) to have the complete patrolling of the floor, especially during the night,” he reveals. Some of the added amenities for the women travellers consist of rooms being serviced by lady associate from housekeeping. The reception also does not permit any outsider into their rooms without getting appropriate clearance from their end, he informs.
ITC business hotels were one of the first hotels in the country to dedicate entire floors – Eva floors -- with standardised facilities for women travellers. Confirms D Kavarana, GM, ITC Maratha & Area Manager, West, “At the ITC Maratha, a set of Eva rooms are dedicated exclusively to the single lady traveller. Conceived as a haven of relaxation and contemporary style, the Eva rooms cater to the requirements and preferences of our special lady guests. Whether it is providing airport assistance on arrival to lady butlers, unpacking clothes, guidance in terms of travelling within the city, aid with hiring of reliable transportation, draping a sari, announcing of calls after 10 pm or a video phone in room, all these are part of the service design. However, the option of staying in an Eva room is at the discretion of the single lady traveller.”
A significant advantage that ITC Hotels have is the ‘Women Aware’ certification that ITC hotels have been accredited with, making it the preferred choice of single lady travellers from across the globe, he adds.
At the ITC Maurya, there is one Eva floor with 14 rooms, which is dedicated to womenonly travellers. What is interesting is that without the room key card, one cannot even stop at the Eva floor. The card needs to be swiped in the elevator to direct it to the Eva floor, allowing limited entry and optimal security. The defining moment of the Eva floor is the interactive door bell, where the guest is able to see without moving from where she is seated as to who is at the door.