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Novotel Guest Survey: 
Men Leave Tidier Rooms, More Romantic
 
January 12, 1999 - Novotel survey finds that while men are more likely to be romantic while staying at hotels, conferences and corporate days are still �men�s business�

The second Novotel Survey indicates that women are cleaning up their act when it comes to hotel rooms. In the initial survey a year ago, all but one of the Novotel hotels reported that men, on average, left their rooms cleaner, where as in the new survey, 8 of the 21 Novotels in Australia and New Zealand ruled in favour of women.

Men are more likely to take on a more romantic streak when they stay at Novotels, being the instigator of the majority of requests for flowers, chocolates, champagne and candlelit dinners. Men also showed a growing interest in massages, but the survey recorded that men had a strong preference for female masseurs, where as women were less likely to ask for a specific sex.

In terms of eating and drinking habits, �the norm� ruled. Men use the bar fridge more often than women, and - almost universally - the favoured beverage for men was beer. Women preferred mineral water, with wine and G&T as the alcoholic preferences.

Where as room service food demands in the last Novotel survey were dominated by the ubiquitous club sandwich for men and caesar salad for women, this year pizza attracted more attention from both sexes, though in New Zealand the burger and steak were the main staples for men folk. In all hotels, women showed a strong preference for �healthy� choices on the restaurant and in-room menus.

The 21 Novotels across the two countries were considering establishing a new business selling mobile phone battery chargers because almost unanimously they were the most frequently left-behind objects of males. Does this have any synergy with the fact that they � also unanimously - won the award for �most frequently sleeping through the alarm�?. Males were also sometimes discovered naked and locked out of their rooms.

While stereotypes did rule in most cases, the new survey showed that women are becoming more assertive in their hotel demands. They are more likely to request services from the concierge than males and they are just as likely to request an upgrade as their male counterparts, though men are far more obsessed with frequent flyer points and business related demands.

When it comes to conferences and corporate days, the division of the sexes clearly remains. For conferences, hotels estimate that males make up between 60 � 90% of participants depending on location, while corporate days involving golf are definitely the preserve of males, with 90% or more of the field made up of men. Interestingly, with conferences where a spouse programme is included, men tend to bring their partners, where as males rarely join their conferencing female partners.

Most Novotels suggested that women are more likely to �souvenir� items from their room (such as bathroom accessories), and were likely to be the target of complaints from males about high-pitched laughing from an adjacent room. In return, men were often accused of having their TV on too loud, and had a definite predilection towards adult movies on the pay channel (by 95% to 5%).

The Novotel Survey was conducted in 21 Novotel hotels and resorts in Australia and New Zealand. Novotel is one of the world�s most renowned �business class� brands with some 400 hotels worldwide. Novotel is managed by Accor, the world�s largest hotel and tourism group.
 

Novotel Survey of Travelling Habits - January 1999
Here are a selection of the questions and a summary 
of the answers posed in the survey
Who orders most room service and what are the most popular dishes ordered? Women are slightly more likely to order room service, with their most popular orders being salads and pizza; men�s preferences are for burgers, steak, pizza and club sandwiches
Who uses the mini-bar more often and what are their preferred beverages? Men by a wide margin with beer top of their order list. Women prefer mineral water
Who leaves the cleanest room? Men by 13 hotels to 8
What are the top items left behind by men and women? Men � mobile phone chargers, Women � underwear and other clothes
Who sleeps through wake-up alarms more often? Men (almost unanimously)
Who souvenirs the most in-room amenities? Women 60% Men 40%. It was a man who was found to have taken the whole min-bar based on the misunderstanding that it was all complimentary
Are men or women noisier guests? Results split evenly with men particularly irritated by laughing women and women by men watching TV too loudly
Who watches more in-room pay movies? Men, who also are prime users of the adult movie channels
Who tips the most? Men � by a wide margin
Who are more likely to select �healthy� options on hotel menus? Women strongly support nutritional choices, with men also showing greater interest
Which guests do more exercise at hotels? Men more likely to use gymnasiums, women swimming pools
How many pieces of luggage do men and women bring for a 2-night stay? One for men, two for women (Novotel Langley Perth reported 17 for women, but only after the porters had a stressful day)
Who is more likely to use business services at the hotels? Men by a vast margin, but all hotels reported a marked increase in in-room computer use and a corresponding fall in demand for hotel business centres
Who makes more requests for upgrades? Equal
Who is more likely to hang-up their towels for re-use (an environmental initiative)? Women, though in the previous survey they were also estimated to use 3 towels daily as opposed to 1-2 for men
On average, what is the difference in the percentage of male and females attending conferences? At some city hotels it is between 60/40 � 70/30 in favour of males, where as in others, particularly resorts, the ratio is closer to 80/20 in favour of males and sometimes as high as 90/10. 
Who orders the most flowers, chocolates, champagne? The romantic gesture comes alive in males when they stay at hotels. The survey did not cover the relationship of the recipient of the romantic treatment to the male provider.

The survey was conducted by department heads at 21 Novotels operating in Australia and New Zealand. The survey was carried out in December 1998.
 

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Contact:
Peter Hook: (61-2) 9367 0860 
e-mail: [email protected]
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Also See: International Survey Compares Travel-Related Sleep Habits of U.S., Japanese, British and German Business Travelers / Oct 1997 
Crowne Plaza Hotels Travel Index Surveys Today's 'Road Warriors' / June 1998 
Are you Ready for the Female Traveler? / David Brudney, June 1997
National Poll Shows American Consumers Favor Accommodating Smoking Choices in Hospitality Establishments / Sept 1998 
High-Tech Rooms and Safety Top the Poll for Future Business Travellers / Jan 1998 

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