Gender-based Differences in Business Travelers'

Abstract

This article explores gender-based differences in hotel-selection and service-use preferences, based on a survey of 250 male and female business travelers. As one might expect, both men and women consider basic services, such as clean, comfortable rooms and free local phone service, to be important. But businesswomen consider security, in-room services and amenities (such as hair dryers and minibars), and low price to be more important selection criteria than do businessmen. Male business travelers are more likely to value business-related services and facilities (such as fax machines and suites). One intriguing finding of the study is that, although businesswomen take an average 7.4 domestic trips per year compared to businessmen's 11.1, women take more international business trips than men and their stays tend to be nearly twice as long.