Martha recently wrote a post about women-only airplane bathrooms, but how about paying extra money for a “women-only floor” in a hotel? The hitch is that you have to be a woman and willing to spend $30 more head to this exclusive floor of X chromosome only slumber at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota. The extra money pays for more security and perks like flowers and chocolate.
Well, as you can imagine, the idea is not loved by everyone and is praised by others. The naysayers aren’t pleased with the segregation idea for a few reasons. If women want an all women floor, than why won’t men demand men-only floor? And since men are more often the decision makers in companies, women have yet another way to be left out of the loop while on a business trip. Others wonder if you could end up segregating people for other reasons too. (Think race)
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Those that love the all-women floor idea say phewey on the race point–that’s nonsense–and that women feel safer and are more comfortable with business travel if they have a place to retreat from the male business traveler fray. This women-only floor sounds to me a bit like a women-only dorm on a college campus. I remember guys yelling outside of the windows of my female-only dorm when I was a freshman, “Throw down your panties.”
You can read more about the discussion in this article published in yesterday’s Columbus Dispatch—although the link actually goes to the same article published in the Toldedo Blade earlier this summer. (As a note, the article has misinformation about the JW Marriot, unless the Marriot has since changed its mind. There had been a “women-only” floor planned for the JW Marriott opening this month in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The plan was tabled, however, according to this article on Fox New’s Web site.
(The photo of the all women floor hallway is from the candid shots section of the Crowne Plaza at Trip Advisor. There is also a thumbs up review of the floor.)