Business travel gets a female touch

As more women join the global workforce, new female-specific services have started to spring up, from cab services to female-only hotel floors.

As more women join the
global workforce, new services geared specifically towards female business
travellers are popping up, from cab services to female-only hotel floors.    

According to a January 2012 study by Amadeus,
a global travel technology group, the number of female business travellers
across the Asia-Pacific region is expected to rise sharply over the next two
decades, as corporations become more equal in their management structures.

The survey of more than 1,500 business and
leisure travellers estimates that in 2011, roughly 4.5 million international
business trips were made by women from Singapore, South Korea, Japan, India,
China, Indonesia and Australia. By 2030, that number is expected to increase 400%,
driven primarily by growth in the number of Chinese and Indian women climbing
the corporate ladder.

Philip Ho is general manager of Asia Fast Track, a company that
provides female-only meet, greet and chauffer services at airports from Macau
to Manila. “We’ve seen a steady increase in enquiries from female executives
flying around and into the region as they become more aware that these services
are possible,” he said.

But it’s not just in Asia. Land in Dubai
or Abu Dhabi and
women can now hail a pink-roofed taxi at the airport or shopping mall to ensure
there is a female driver behind the wheel. These cabs are for women and
families only.

“In corporate travel, female executives are
often interested in two specific areas: safety and connectivity,” said Sonja
Hamman, from London-based Wings Travel
Management, which specialises in corporate travel. “Women want to know
whether a hotel has security staff 24/7 and whether each floor requires card
access so that people from the bar or off the street can’t come up to their
floor. These are features that will bring a level of comfort to a female
traveller.”

Around the world, women-friendly hotel rooms
have sprung up as a response. Since late 2011, the Dukes Hotel
near London’s Piccadilly has been offering rooms with “feminine touches”, such
as glossy lifestyle magazines and a make-up mirror. On arrival you’ll be met by
female staff members who will show you to your room. And in 2012, the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston,
Texas, launched its “Gal on the Go” programme; when a female guest checks in on
business, the front desk will direct her to its women-only floor, whose rooms are
equipped with extra amenities including yoga mats, jewellery boxes and a make-up
kit.

There’s even a traveller network dedicated
to connecting and informing female business travellers. Maiden Voyage, which currently has around
2,000 members worldwide, aims to bring together female road warriors who might
want to meet for dinner or a drink if they’re travelling on their own. The
website features female friendly hotels and offers tips on things to watch out
for, from drink spiking in bars to double locking hotel room doors.