Female-friendly hotel database will help lone travellers

The modern PA is just as likely to find herself making trips to far-flung business destinations as her boss, so hotels are taking it upon themselves to provide improved safety for women travelling alone.

The most popular measures put in place by hotels to ensure safety are: never read out a room number at check-in (70%), never give out guest names (68%), provide well lit car parking with CCTV (62%), never allocate a room on the ground floor (58%) and have HR policy guidelines in place for staff on non-harassment of lone females (55%).

Independent travel management company Business Travel Direct questioned hotels already used by its clients in the UK and overseas in order to build a database of female-friendly locations. The ensuing survey also found that overall hotels in the UK appear to be more vigilant than those abroad, while decisions by the major chains on policies regarding female travellers appear to be made at a local rather than head office level.

Other initiatives taken by hotels include not allocating rooms at the end of corridors (a third will even upgrade the booking to comply with this), providing outward-facing peep holes in doors and offering to accompany women guests to the car park, especially when it is dark.

While women are happy to be treated the same as men when it comes to flights and other elements of their trips, the survey reveals that most female travellers still have concerns about their personal security, especially when they are staying on their own in an unknown venue.