It’s friendly service, stiff drinks and a sweet pool for the women when they visit a hotel, while their male counterparts go for the Internet and look at the pricing of room and services.
Food high on want list of women (Image credit: Luiz Rocha/Shutterstock)
Therein lie the differences on what the male and female travellers care about most during their hotel visits, as revealed by the online reputation management tool, TrustYou.
From analysis of 50 million hotel reviews to understand these differences, TrustYou found that while overall scores are similar for reviews written by each gender (i.e. women are not more critical than men, or vice versa) there are differences in the way that each demographic evaluates their hotel experience.
Some key findings:
- Food: Women mention desserts 57% more often than men, food 5% more
- Drinks: Women mention the minibar 11% more often than men, alcoholic drinks 10%, and the bar 8% more
- Leisure: Women mention entertainment 34% more often than men, the pool 16%, shopping 11%, and the spa/wellness area 5% more
- Internet/TV: Men mention the Internet 49% more than women, the TV 35% more
- Price/value: Men mention value for money 29% more often than women, parking prices 28% more
- Ambiance: Women mention ambiance 11% more than men
- Friendliness: Women mention a friendly atmosphere 10% more than men
- Professionalism: Men mention professional service 10% more than women
- Facilities and maintenance: Men mention hotel facilities (old/new facilities) 40% more often than women, overall hotel maintenance 26% more
TrustYou explained that one reason for this difference could be women are more likely to take on travel planning for their spouse or partner, and so tend to focus more on the leisure attributes of the hotel..
Women also plan their business travel differently than men, with a focus on leisure travel. The Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University shows that 44% of female business travelers incorporate leisure experiences into their travel, and 20% add vacation days to extend their stay.
Trustyou said hoteliers could use these findings to better cater to each demographic. “Service staff, for example, can be trained in ways to best to communicate with each gender. Management can also take these findings into account when offering perks or upgrades: a complimentary drink or spa treatment may be of more interest to female travelers, whereas free WiFi or vouchers may appeal more to male travellers”.
• Featured image (summer): Ditty_about_summer/Shutterstock
