How would you improve business travel for females?, responses to the WOMEN ON THEIR WAY(TM) Awards Contest reveal that women are seeking a personal touch and cost-saving benefits to improve their business travel experience.

The winning responses, along with information gained from a Wyndham-sponsored study into women business travelers' behaviors and attitudes(A), will help the company shape its offerings.

The respondents indicated that the business travel experience is missing personal touches and money-saving amenities, such as:

• A bottle of water waiting in the guest room
• Preferred non-business reading material in the guest room
• A more inviting guest room
• Healthy snacks
• Free Internet and Wi-Fi access

Overwhelmingly, these responses demonstrate that Wyndham is getting it right when it comes to the needs of business travelers as Wyndham's pioneering Wyndham ByRequest(R) guest recognition program already offers its members many of these options.

"The contest results validate our decision to do things differently than the rest of the industry, especially offering what travelers are looking for through Wyndham ByRequest," said Andrew Jordan, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of sales and marketing for Wyndham International. "We take pride in knowing that nearly two million ByRequest members already receive many of the personal touches travelers are looking for, and know that through our philosophy of listening and responding to guests, we will continue to redefine the business travel experience."

Contest entrants responded to the question the entire travel industry is wondering: "How would you improve the business travel experience for everyone if you had the power to make changes?" Members of Wyndham's Women Business Travelers Advisory Board chose these five innovative suggestions as this year's WOMEN ON THEIR WAY Award winners:

• Offer a service at the hotel where guests can 'check out' commonly used but bulky items such as workout shoes and laptop computers
• Create a secure message board for women traveling alone to arrange dinner meetings with fellow women business travelers or professional women in the area for networking
• Introduce an electronic concierge that emails guests information about and directions to local establishments in specified categories (houses of worship, specialty stores, areas of interest, etc.)
• Let the traveler set their own check-in and check out times in order to make the trip more flexible and enjoyable
• Give business travelers a 'Back at the Office' supply bag containing frequently used and often forgotten office supplies, including a stapler, paper clips and floppy disks

"Our goal is to deliver services that appeal to all travelers, while keeping the needs of women business travelers in mind," said Cary Jehl Broussard, vice president of WOMEN ON THEIR WAY marketing. "We turned this question over to women because they hone in on services and amenities that can be added or enhanced, and our research has shown that men also realize a benefit from these initiatives once they are in place."