Women business travellers fear for safety

Personal safety is a worry for 42% of women business travellers, according to research by Scottish & Newcastle's budget hotel chain Premier Lodge.

Conscious that 78% of the 500 businesswomen it surveyed said their hotel choice would be influenced by a focus on customer safety, the chain has linked up with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to tackle an issue it says the industry has traditionally shied away from. It is also calling for the development of a hotel Safety Award.

Younger women proved most fearful about their safety - 60% of those aged between 18 and 30 had concerns, against just 33% of those between 46 and 65.

Sexual attacks topped the list of concerns, cited by 33% of the survey. Other worries including mugging, bedroom theft, pickpockets, bag snatchers and chat-up pests.

The research discovered that 29% of businesswomen had found themselves in a threatening position while working away from home and that 93% carried a mobile phone to feel safer.

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Women travellers: safety fears

"Our research has shown us that recent world events and the glare of publicity over the date-rape drugs, have made people re-evaluate their own personal safety," said Premier Lodge brand director Nick Read. "It is particularly important within our growing budget hotel sector to reassure customers that although we are a value-for-money offer, we do not compromise on safety." The Trust is advising Premier Lodge on how to improve safety in individual hotels and across the group, and its Staying Safe Away from Home leaflet will be left in all bedrooms. Current precautions include keeping women out of rooms on the ground floor or end of corridors and the use of cards printed with their room number in the reception and restaurant to avoid them being overheard. Other safety measures include telephones in the bedrooms, a 24-hour reception, a front-door entry system, locks on bedroom windows and doors and well-lit car parks. The Trust added that businessmen should also take heed of personal safety, as men are twice as likely to become victims of violent crime.