Marriott's Decision to Cater to Female Tenants

The grand opening of a new JW Marriott hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan has dedicated an entire floor solely to female travellers. This idea is good in theory, however I'm not so sure if it is a step forward or backward in light of the feminist civil rights movements and issues of equality.

Also, the spokesperson Andrea Groom highly contradicted herself when she said that if a male wanted to request a room on the female-only floor, "it's not going to be an issue...he won't be excluded." In this case Groom was likely trying to be sensitive of gay men's safety issues, in that if a gay man wanted to request a room on the female-only floor, he better get a room.

But what if a man requests a room on the female-only floor and ends up being a serial rapist or murderer? Is this man "not going to be excluded" from the female-only floor? How are the hotel's staff supposed to know the difference? There are likely already enough video cameras and security in the hotels that a female-only floor is not needed.

This new female-only floor is just not a good idea. If Marriott is going to cater to female tenants, then it also needs to cater to the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, ethnic minority and every other stereotyped group in society. I understand the positive effort that Marriott was trying to make by addressing the needs of its consumers, but to me this only discriminates against other groups in society, including females.

Labels: Grand Rapids Marriott