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Women travelers influence trends

June 12, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

Identifying and targeting specific demographics is imperative for any marketing strategy. Hoteliers should especially be focusing on women consumers, whose influence and spending power continues to strengthen even in a tumultuous economy.

Women are travel influencers because they’re “more involved in household spending decisions. Today, price, fashion and convenience are key purchasing drivers for female consumers, and this very much applies to the hospitality industry, too.

Peter Yesawich, vice chairman of MMGY Global, a travel-marketing firm, said approximately 47% of women in a sample of 1,000 female travelers are traveling for business. “Years ago it was one-third of that,” he said, “but that makes sense because you have a lot more women in the workforce.”

In a travel preference survey conducted by MMGY Global in February/March of this year, which polled 2,174 active male and female U.S. travelers (1,174 male travelers and 1,000 female travelers), female travelers weigh the value of a hotel over male travelers. Value for price (92% female to 87% male), location of the hotel (90% female to 85% male), previous experience (89% female to 83% male), free Internet access (77% female to 73% male), free breakfast included in the room rate (77% female to 69% male) and guest points for each stay (55% female to 48% male) are a few of the important attributes female travelers seek when choosing a hotel.

“Female travelers are more concerned about value and more of these complimentary amenities,” he said.

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