Thanks, Dianne. That's great info! Most of our hotels in North America were built before there were corporate women travellers. Most design firms were and still are owned and directed by middle-aged men. Most of them have been married too long and, frankly, are no longer sensitive to women's needs. As well, there were many design errors by tradition which the younger designers, male or female, just inherit without even thinking. For instance, few designers take into account how a pregnant woman shaves her legs in the bathroom and what furnishings she would need.
In the past decade there was a flood of social, demographic and economic factors which affected the whole landscape of hotel design. The customer profile changed significantly -- aging baby boomers, increased women travellers, new breed of dot.com travellers and matured customer expectations.
Most of all, the laptops propelled the hotel industry from low-tech to high-tech. Now the guests use their rooms to work besides sleeping. Therefore they need larger work desk, ergonomic chair, bright light, power, Internet, more space as a work zone. The computer also changed our work habits. We are no longer a 9-5 breed. Work/lesiure/office/home all merged. Most of our generation sit in front of the computer till they go to bed. We actually feel guity relaxing at home. With that comes more stress. With stress we need sanctuary. The updated and nicely furnished bathrooms provide instant escape, even for a few moments.
All these factors explained why the guestrooms in new breed of hotels are what they are. Architects must tune in and keep track of the guest needs.