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 Expecting Nearly Half of Business Travelers to be Women, 
The Pan Pacific San Francisco is Fine Tuning Amenities
What do women want?
San Francisco, CA -- 25 Feb 2000 - 
 
The Pan Pacific San Francisco, long committed to serving the female business traveler, recently posed that age-old question to over 200 globe-trotting women and got some straight answers on what they value most in a hotel. In short, they view the ideal hotel as one that provides a high degree of caring service and thoughtful amenities in the kind of secure, comfortable environment that makes being on the road feel more like being home.   

To discern what specific hotel features are most important to women, The Pan Pacific asked the 200 female hotel guests and a focus group panel of 10 women travel industry leaders to rate the importance of dozens of amenities and services on a scale of one to five. Just one item, the in-room hair dryer, scored a perfect five, while nonsmoking floors, concierge staff, complimentary car service, flexible check-in/check-out and voice mail came in close behind. 

The women also gave high marks to hotel services that create a virtual office, including in-room fax machines, computer hookups, Internet access, multiple phone lines and a business center. They also expressed a fondness for such creature comforts as a robe and slippers, nightly turn down, and even �little niceties� such as Q-tips, cotton balls and mending kits. At the same time, the participants clearly value the good life, giving high scores to personal butler service, VIP services and on-site gourmet dining. 

What don�t they care about? Obviously not couch potatoes, the women gave a high rating to fitness centers but low scores to premium cable TV channels, video games, and VCRs. They also said they can do without free coffee, auto detail service and luxury storage lockers.

When asked what prompts them to choose a particular hotel, the women clearly favored intimate hotels over large, impersonal properties that cater to convention groups. The ideal choice is a centrally located hotel with a strong sense of local style and a friendly staff that knows each guest by name. The hotel should offer quiet, comfortable places for women to meet with business associates other than a guest room, restaurant or bar. Women also appreciate luxurious, well-lit bathrooms appointed with female-oriented amenities such as bubble bath, hand creams, nondrying soaps, shower caps and hairspray. 

When asked why they return to particular hotels, many women said it all has to do with the overall experience created by a well-trained staff who anticipates guests needs and feels empowered to do something about them. For instance, a concierge should not only make restaurant reservations, but should advise guests on whether the restaurant calls for casual or dressy attire. 

Safety also ranked high among the women�s concerns and they said they expect hotels to do whatever is possible to provide it. Hotel staff should advise women on which areas of a city are unsafe after dark and provide maps so they know which areas to avoid. Standard hotel features should include peep holes in guest room doors, 24-hour security on site, well-lit common areas, safe parking and room keys that do not indicate the room number. Also appreciated are front desk personnel that do not announce the guest�s room number or name out loud. Staff should be available to escort women to their rooms. 

The survey is just one way that The Pan Pacific San Francisco is continually fine-tuning its approach to women travelers, who comprise over 30 percent of overall guests at the hotel, and plans to become known as The City�s preeminent hotel for women within the next two years. With women expected to account for nearly half of all business travelers by 2002, according to USAToday, The Pan Pacific is well aware of the importance of serving this discerning market and is proud that they can already meet their expectations and demands with the services, amenities and facilities already in place.

Designed by visionary hotel architect John Portman, The Pan Pacific San Francisco has always provided an attractive and intimate environment that women enjoy. 

With safety of utmost concern to women, The Pan Pacific addresses this need with a topnotch, 24-hour security staff that monitors the Entry Court (the only public access to the hotel) and the third-floor lobby. With guest rooms opening off an 18-story central atrium, there are no unsafe, secluded hallways. Guests may request a personal escort to their rooms and each room is equipped with a conveniently located personal valet button, which can be used to summon emergency assistance. Located on fashionable Post Street, only one block from Union Square, the hotel is convenient to all of the city�s business centers, including the Financial District, Downtown, and Moscone Center.

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Contact:
Molly Cahill
(925) 631-7971
[email protected]
Also See: The Concierge Staff at San Francisco's Pan Pacific Hotel Provide Unusual Anecdotes / Feb 1999 
Pan Pacific Hotels Have Had Their Share of Pilferage / Sept 1999 
Robert Knigge Appointed Director of Sales at Pan Pacific San Francisco / July 1999 

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