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Jan. 25--VIRGINIA BEACH -- Soon, the Fairfield Inn will have an expanded lobby with a plasma TV, a swank business center and a larger breakfast area.
But John Tanner at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott Virginia Beach Town Center has already added some important enhancements: Potpourri in certain rooms. Scented candles. Chocolates. Bath squishies and peppermint foot lotion.
The general manager recently designated five of the hotel's 130 rooms for the single-female traveler. Tanner, and a growing number of hoteliers, want to give new meaning to the term, "Ladies' Room.''
For Jarod Foreman , director of sales for the Fairfield Inn , the focus on women is simple.
"It pays to take care of the traveling, working female,'' he said.
Women now comprise 43 percent of business travelers and influence 80 percent of family and leisure travel, according to the Travel Industry Association of America and Road & Travel Magazine . Other studies show women travelers have discerning tastes, preferring brand-name toiletries and spa services, more than high-speed internet access and fitness centers.
Hotels are installing changes from the practical -- more security features, such as escorts to cars and women-only floors -- to the eccentric.
The Sanctuary South Beach in Miami Beach offers a 25-percent discount for single women during the off-season, jogging companions, and cabana boys to apply suntan lotion by the roof-top pool. The Kimpton Hotel chain, which has seven properties in D.C. , offers an all-day yoga channel and in-room yoga equipment.
Courtney Caldwell , editor-in-chief of Road & Travel , has noticed other changes among major chains: better lighting in bathrooms, lower mirrors and bathroom hooks, smaller bathrobes, and more counter space.
"The makeup mirrors, they used to put those way too high,'' said the 5-foot-1-inch Caldwell. "You could always tell a man designed these bathrooms.''
The adjustments will also benefit seniors, Caldwell said, and shorter men, even if they won't admit it. Tanner agrees. The Fairfield began offering the rooms in December and when the hotel sells out, opens the rooms to men.
"Men have come down to the front desk and asked for the scented lotions,'' Tanner said.
He came up with his ideas for the rooms by brainstorming with his staff and then through his personal experience. Before getting into the hospitality business three years ago, he was a stay-at-home dad.
"I know what it's like for a hard-working woman to come home and want to relax.''
The Fairfield's female rooms are in the center of the top floor, accesible only by key, away from the noise of Interstate 264 , which runs outside the building. The rooms have adjustable makeup mirrors and stools, and a staff member will turn on a light and the television so that the guest will feel like she's at home.
Tanner said the rooms have been so popular among his corporate clients that he will add another five by the end of February .
Fran Berry is a sales representative from Richmond, and stays at the Fairfield Inn at least three nights every five weeks . She's been a regular for years, but appreciates the new touches.
Berry now requests the same room when she makes reservations.
"I feel safe there,'' she said. "And that's a big thing for women."
Reach Denise Batts at (757) 446-2504 or denise.batts@pilotonline.com
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
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