Jane Offers a History Lesson

Posted by Jane

It's back. Wyndham Worldwide has relaunched its ground-breaking WOMEN ON THEIR WAY® program. An integral part of that program, www.womenontheirway.com, serves up travel and safety tips, articles on destinations, a booking widget, and social networking features such as blogs and message boards. There is also a section dedicated to special deals.

Jane is proud to have been one of the founding mothers of www.womenontheirway.com. Okay, Jane wasn't there birthing the website design and dreaming up its wide-ranging content back in the day. But the fact is, when the program was launched in 1995, Jane was WOTW's first on-line columnist, providing pithy commentary and witty words of wisdom for women.

But enough about Jane's brilliance. Let's ponder the brilliance of WOMEN ON THEIR WAY. WOTW is more than a website. It's a revolutionary and award-winning travel program, the first in the industry devoted to the female business traveler. A little more than a decade ago, female business travelers were still flying...and lodging....under the mainstream radar. But the Wyndham brand was paying attention to this growing segment. Even though, in 1995, only 19% (can you believe it?) of business travelers were women, Wyndham saw the potential of Girl Power. Good move--women now make up 51% of  all business travelers, but even more encouraging, 80% of leisure trips are planned and booked by women.

WOMEN ON THEIR WAY brought about numerous industry-first initiatives to solicit feedback, including the creation of The Women Business Travelers Advisory Board, and the development of an on-line community to share travel tips and resources. That interactive community was one of the earliest on the World Wide Web. Wyndham was the first company to spearhead research into the working woman market, partnering with New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. WOMEN ON THEIR WAY was also the founding sponsor of the Women's Leadership Initiative, a key force in the meetings industry. Wyndham helped fund academic scholarships and research in order to help female meeting planners realize their fullest potential.

In its hotels, Wyndham went out of its way to see that properties were female-friendly. In the early days, that meant focusing on personalizing guest room options, adding in-room amenities, providing new and improved room service menus, and enhancing security. The Women Business Travelers Advisory Board is responsible for innovations such as courtesy calls to alert guests to room service delivery, the addition of full length mirrors, and a host of gender-friendly toiletries.

Wyndham Worldwide's commitment to female business and leisure travelers continues to go beyond both bedroom and boardroom. WOMEN ON THEIR WAY is adding to its list of accomplishments thanks to its new collaboration with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the "Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doers" Awards Program. Jane will discuss that in depth in another entry. But for now, note that WOTW is back and better than ever. To quote the lovely and talented Betsy O'Rourke, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Wyndham Worldwide (and a role model for working women worldwide), "WOMEN ON THEIR WAY is about recognizing, supporting and celebrating women while providing a resource for them to research, plan and book all their travel, giving them ideas on how to make the most of their valuable time." What else could a woman want?