• What's ticked?
• Accolades
• Contact us

c o l u m n s

• Cheap Charlie
• ChrisCrossings
• Err Travel
• Leocha
• Travel Notes
• Archives

Don't Ask
Err Travel · November 7, 2000

Did you see the recent news release and follow-up stories about what women look for when selecting a hotel? In case you missed it, here is the meat of the press release: "…savvy, sophisticated women who travel for business today believe responsive service is the most important criteria to use when selecting a hotel for business."

Is that so?

I took a closer look at the study, and this finding seems to be as much flimflam as fact.

When asked, "When choosing a hotel for business travel, how important to you are each of the following aspects?" the number one concern of traveling business women was "responsive service." This was followed closely by "location convenient to business" and "affordable rates."

Further down the list were "well-known brand," "an upscale reputation," and "attractive, tasteful décor." Then "guest rooms equipped for working", "location convenient to the airport," "an efficient hotel business center," and "frequent flyer miles." All of these topics were judged as important to over half of the women surveyed.

The two items of least importance to the women were "membership in hotel frequent guest program" and "child care facilities or amenities."

That's it. Over 400 businesswomen travelers were surveyed, and not one responded that safety was at all important.

Huh? How can this be?

Simple. The respondents weren't asked. Of the 12 hotel items that women were asked to rate as important to them when selecting a hotel, not one was about safety.

What gives here? Even Dr. Lalia Rach, the New York University professor who authored the report states, "Safety is often cited in the literature as the number one concern of female business travelers. The issue has gained almost mythical status in the industry and whenever the needs and wants of the female business traveler are discussed, safety dominates the exchange."

Nevertheless, instead of simply asking, "How important is safety when selecting a hotel?" Dr. Rach and her researchers took the oddball approach of trying to deduce that answer by asking travelers where they preferred to exercise and where they preferred to eat when staying in a hotel. This is a loopy way to get at information that could easily be measured more directly.

Why the roundabout methodology? Could it be that the concern women business travelers have about their safety is taken for granted and need not to be asked? Could it be that the researchers were only interested in rating hotel niceties? Could it be that Wyndham Hotels, the sponsor of the study, leaned on the researchers to downplay the safety angle?

Whatever the reason, I don't buy that "savvy, sophisticated women who travel for business today believe responsive service is the most important criteria to use when selecting a hotel for business."

I think they are more savvy and more sophisticated than that.

(Next week, I'll have more about how hotels that are targeting traveling businesswomen - and how that is helping criminals target them too.)

Dr. Terry Riley is a psychologist and travel security authority. His column appears on Wednesdays. He is author of the popular book Travel Can Be Murder. Visit his site at http://www.appliedpsychology.com or e-mail him at terry@ticked.com.