From private hotel floors to separate public transport, women travelers increasingly demand a room of their own By Alex Perry
At its simplest, travel is about getting away from it all. Reject the routine. Junk the job, for a week or even just a few hours between meetings. Reinvigorated by variety, so the theory goes, the traveler returns to the dreary regularity of workaday life with a carefree skip and a song.
But for some, the restorative powers of the road can be diminished by the hassle. Specifically, for an increasing number of women, one thing always tops the leave-behind list: men. "Women need their own time to be with themselves, create their own journeys, to be with other women to share experiences," says American Virginia Armstrong. "We just have fun together."
And Armstrong—who runs female-only trips to India and Bhutan through Bridges to the World based in Portland, Maine, tel: (1-207) 774 0940—is not alone. After pursuing gender equality, the travel industry is now flirting with segregation. Hoteliers are offering rooms with nail-polish remover instead of shaving foam and a trouser press. Train operators are wondering how exotic, really, is a Tokyo groping? If a traveler wants, it is now possible for flights, hotels and even a whole holiday to be a ladies-only affair.
For women on business, a trouble-free environment is key. "They have concerns about their safety and prefer floors with female-only staff," says Fay Lugue, director of sales and marketing at Singapore's Gallery Hotel. "Some of our customers ask for their rooms to not be too near the elevators and also prefer not to have corner rooms." The Gallery was the first hotel in Asia to reserve a floor for women, served by female staff, when it opened in October 2000. Doubles start at $93; to reserve, call (65) 6849 8686. Since then, the Novotel Atlantis in Shanghai's Pudong district has set aside its 43rd floor, under the name Club Femme. Doubles go for $130; call (86-21) 5036 6666. In Japan—where commuter groping of women is so endemic that one downtown Tokyo bar is set up like a subway car so chikan [molesters] who just can't get enough on their way to work can goose passing waitresses—segregated travel is in big demand. Single-sex buses, separate cars on trains and females-only neighboring seats on domestic carrier Skymark Airlines are on offer. Besides unwanted advances, says a Skymark spokeswoman, "some women feel more at ease asking their neighbor to stand up to go to the bathroom if she's female."
Security aside, some hotels are simply becoming more female-friendly. Typical is the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong, which offers Luxury Amenities Designed for You. For $128 extra per stay, guests can enjoy Bulgari toiletries, silk pajamas, drawn baths and other services. Deluxe harbor-view doubles cost $298 per night until Dec. 15; call (852) 2877 6666. International airlines, too, are targeting women: Virgin Atlantic has in-flight beauty therapists, and South African Airways boasts departure lounge massages and arrival makeup facilities. And the world over, companies such as Armstrong's are touting single-sex holidays—from cycling in Vietnam to trekking in Nepal.
It's too early to say whether these pioneers will truly redefine travel options. Despite launch publicity, few people have ever seen a pink Bangkok "femi-bus." And Roy Olsson, head of Asia for Best Western, says the world's biggest hotel chain has yet to find significant demand for female-only facilities. "It's not like women execs need bodyguards," he says. "I really don't think we want to spend money on this." But replies Lugue: "For us, it is not just about the money, it's about providing an extra service to our female customers to make them feel a little more pampered."
With reporting by Sara Rajan/Hong Kong and Toko Sekiguchi/Tokyo
