Middle East

With an increasing young population living in the Middle East, travel and tourism operators are striving to identify innovative concepts that are in harmony with the region’s culture. Female-only accommodation is relevant, especially in Muslim countries, for demographic, religious and cultural reasons. Exclusively female-only accommodation is a recent trend, spearheaded in 2007 by a group of entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia, when they opened the first female-only hotel in the region.

Despite the crisis, the region is still a hotspot for tourism. Saudi Arabia has 30 million domestic tourists per year and has invested US$40 billion in infrastructure. The domestic tourism market in Saudi Arabia is significant as Saudi women are more likely to travel within the Kingdom than abroad due to the restrictions on travel for women. In many Muslim countries, it is risky for women to travel alone and frowned at by Arab society. Islamic laws require “Maharam”, meaning a male escort, which places restrictions on travel for women. This motivated the opening of the Luthan Hotel & Spa, the first female-only hotel in Saudi Arabia.

Female-only accommodation should not be considered solely in terms of culture and religion for Arab and Muslim women only, but also for non-Muslims alike. Western women are likely to feel more comfortable staying at women-only hotels, given the widespread negative perceptions of women travelling alone in the Middle East. Such facilities are convenient for Western businesswomen and journalists who often travel and feel safer at female-only hotels.

Female-only accommodation takes its roots from female-only hotel floors. The Chopard Floor at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai (UAE) provides a female-only staff and rooms catered to women including Chopard branded bathing products. Luthan Hotel & Spa was the first entirely female-only hotel in the region, run by women, reporting 50% occupancy post opening. Its clientele comprises non-Saudi businesswomen and Saudi leisure guests.

“Worldwide women are seeking the additional privacy in public spaces from the beaches of Italy, to trains in Brazil, to taxis in Bombay, ‘women-only’ options are being increasingly created to satisfy demand. Depending on the quantum of female traffic to a particular city, hoteliers may consider floors or alternatively properties dedicated to women only.”
Lorraine Couthino, Executive Director, Luthan Hotel & Spa

Female-only accommodation falls under a wide spectrum of women-only travel services already available in the Middle East, although it is believed that the concept can also be exported to many countries. It is important to link health and wellness to women-only hotels as these can be marketed as spas and health centres with a lodging option. This makes the concept easier to sell by broadening its appeal. Markets developing their medical tourism potential include Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Potential female patients will be a key target for female-only accommodation.

Future Outlook

Female-only accommodation is likely to pick up in the future and the trend will take the form of more womenonly floors at new hotels, and potentially exclusively new female-only hotels. On a global scale, women are seeking additional privacy in public places and this will be a major driver behind the development of women-only hotels in different cities across the Middle East. This type of accommodation will have to develop a selling proposition that appeals to both Western and Middle Eastern women by marrying their cultural relevance with their safety, security and comfort.

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