Ranger Mom
05-18-2007, 11:45 AM
I think it's a good idea!!
Hotel's 19th floor is women-only, but is it legal?
city's new JW Marriott hotel, one might be a first in America.
The Alticor-owned riverfront hotel is reserving its 19th floor and a lounge exclusively for female clientele when it opens Sept. 19.
Andrea Groom, a spokeswoman for the 24-story, 340-room hotel, said the idea recognizes more than half of all business travelers are women.
"A lot of women are saying they're not feeling like they're safe when they're traveling to a strange city," she said. "They don't necessarily want to go down to a lounge and feel like they are getting hit on by guys."
The women-only rooms also will have amenities not found in other rooms, such as chenille throw blankets, ionic hair dryers, jewelry holders and special bath products.
Access to those rooms will come at a $25 to $30 per night premium over standard rates of about $229.
Is it legal?
Harold Core, a Michigan Civil Rights Commission spokesman, said he wasn't sure.
"You cannot deny a person services just because they are male or female," Core said. "In a lot of cases, there could be a nondiscriminatory reason where a hotel would have that kind of set-up or policy."
He cited restrooms and locker rooms as gender-specific amenities that are legal.
"I can imagine if this is something they're announcing publicly, it is something that will either come to a court or come to our commission," he said.
George Aquino, general manager of the hotel, said with only a small percentage of women-only rooms, he doesn't expect it to become an issue.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4811130.html
Some of the comments on here are hilarious!!
Hotel's 19th floor is women-only, but is it legal?
city's new JW Marriott hotel, one might be a first in America.
The Alticor-owned riverfront hotel is reserving its 19th floor and a lounge exclusively for female clientele when it opens Sept. 19.
Andrea Groom, a spokeswoman for the 24-story, 340-room hotel, said the idea recognizes more than half of all business travelers are women.
"A lot of women are saying they're not feeling like they're safe when they're traveling to a strange city," she said. "They don't necessarily want to go down to a lounge and feel like they are getting hit on by guys."
The women-only rooms also will have amenities not found in other rooms, such as chenille throw blankets, ionic hair dryers, jewelry holders and special bath products.
Access to those rooms will come at a $25 to $30 per night premium over standard rates of about $229.
Is it legal?
Harold Core, a Michigan Civil Rights Commission spokesman, said he wasn't sure.
"You cannot deny a person services just because they are male or female," Core said. "In a lot of cases, there could be a nondiscriminatory reason where a hotel would have that kind of set-up or policy."
He cited restrooms and locker rooms as gender-specific amenities that are legal.
"I can imagine if this is something they're announcing publicly, it is something that will either come to a court or come to our commission," he said.
George Aquino, general manager of the hotel, said with only a small percentage of women-only rooms, he doesn't expect it to become an issue.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4811130.html
Some of the comments on here are hilarious!!