Though the role of women in travel has shifted, the presence of feminized spaces and amenities in hotels persists today. It’s possible to identify what motivates these seemingly archaic spaces through a feminist approach to neoliberalism. Fear of safety as a female concern is used to justify the creation of these feminized spaces as a means to increase capital through exploitation of this concern. Observing the historic relationship between women and hotels frames the practices in place today. The Hyatt ‘Women’s Experience’ and other women’s-only initiatives should be subject to critique given the fact that women make up half of all business travelers today. Women are paying to be kept safe and continue to be exploited through exclusion masked as inclusion. This paper explores societal and gender constructs that may help shed light on the presence of these spaces today.
About the presenterAmanda Renee Kogle
Amanda Kogle is an MA candidate in History of Design & Curatorial Studies at Parsons School of Design in New York City. She is also a Graduate Fellow in the Drawings, Prints, & Graphic Design department at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum where she aids in research and assists with exhibitions. She originally hails from Minneapolis, MN.