The Hidden Market of Female Travelers
Women are a rising force among frequent business travelers. They also make a majority of decisions for their families' personal trips. So can the travel business get in gear?
Try this on for size: A female executive recently changing planes at one of the world's busiest passenger airports, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, suddenly realized she'd forgotten to pack her extra pair of shoes. With luck she found a shoe store at the airport, but its selection was limited to men's footwear. When she asked where she could buy women's shoes, the clerk told her, "Sorry, not anywhere here."
It's a real experience and a metaphor for a larger quest that women as a segment of the traveling population frequently endure. Despite their numbers as a growing force in the marketplace, women business travelers are still often shoehorned into a model designed for men. Hotel rooms for business travelers offer downcast décor and so-so amenities; the hotel's social area may consist of a bar that is at best uninviting or at worst, vaguely creepy. In addition, women travelers often perceive that airline employees treat them more grudgingly than the guys.
As a result, a valuable market is still waiting to be served; that goes double when one considers women's substantial role in organizing their families' leisure vacations. So said five travel professionals who spoke at a panel session of the Harvard Business School Dynamic Women in Business Conference, held January 22. Laura Begley, style director for Travel & Leisure magazine, moderated the session, whose theme was "Women Exploring the World."
The two identifiable market segments-business and recreational travelers-are not even mutually exclusive, panelists agreed. "There is a trend for incorporating family: taking a business trip and adding a family component," said Jenifer Ziegler, senior vice president of brand management for Holiday Inn Express.
Any company that understands its female travelers' experiences and wisdom is likely to succeed, everyone agreed. Rewards for the travel and hospitality industry overall will come when women occupy more senior management positions, added Kathy Stewart, a program director for Butterfield & Robinson, a company based in Canada that runs high-end, active trips. "The more we talk about women as travelers, the more it will be clear that these positions need women," she said.
Females are estimated to comprise 50 percent of frequent fliers, according to Travel & Leisure's Begley. If a woman has a family, she may make 70 percent of all her family's personal travel decisions, Begley continued. Forty percent of business travelers today are women, while just thirty years ago female executives comprised only one percent. A glance around any airport or train station confirms that things have changed.
But as an industry, however, travel is mature, said Ziegler. It is very operations-intensive with a lot of moving parts, making it difficult to change. "As an industry, we're a little slow to recognize these [demographic] trends," she said.
External Source - For the complete article click here
Source - HBS Working Knowledge
It's a real experience and a metaphor for a larger quest that women as a segment of the traveling population frequently endure. Despite their numbers as a growing force in the marketplace, women business travelers are still often shoehorned into a model designed for men. Hotel rooms for business travelers offer downcast décor and so-so amenities; the hotel's social area may consist of a bar that is at best uninviting or at worst, vaguely creepy. In addition, women travelers often perceive that airline employees treat them more grudgingly than the guys.
As a result, a valuable market is still waiting to be served; that goes double when one considers women's substantial role in organizing their families' leisure vacations. So said five travel professionals who spoke at a panel session of the Harvard Business School Dynamic Women in Business Conference, held January 22. Laura Begley, style director for Travel & Leisure magazine, moderated the session, whose theme was "Women Exploring the World."
The two identifiable market segments-business and recreational travelers-are not even mutually exclusive, panelists agreed. "There is a trend for incorporating family: taking a business trip and adding a family component," said Jenifer Ziegler, senior vice president of brand management for Holiday Inn Express.
Any company that understands its female travelers' experiences and wisdom is likely to succeed, everyone agreed. Rewards for the travel and hospitality industry overall will come when women occupy more senior management positions, added Kathy Stewart, a program director for Butterfield & Robinson, a company based in Canada that runs high-end, active trips. "The more we talk about women as travelers, the more it will be clear that these positions need women," she said.
Females are estimated to comprise 50 percent of frequent fliers, according to Travel & Leisure's Begley. If a woman has a family, she may make 70 percent of all her family's personal travel decisions, Begley continued. Forty percent of business travelers today are women, while just thirty years ago female executives comprised only one percent. A glance around any airport or train station confirms that things have changed.
But as an industry, however, travel is mature, said Ziegler. It is very operations-intensive with a lot of moving parts, making it difficult to change. "As an industry, we're a little slow to recognize these [demographic] trends," she said.
External Source - For the complete article click here
Source - HBS Working Knowledge
