I was recently thinking about the increasing number of lone female business travellers and if their requirements differ to that of the lone male traveller.

In the UK, it is estimated that the proportion of women travelling on business is at least 40 per cent of the market – a considerable increase over the past few years.

Despite advances in gender equality in business travel, are women still faced with a unique set of circumstances when it comes to safety and travelling alone?

As a female traveller I’m not so sure my requirements are any different to those of my male colleagues.

What do I want when I travel? A clean hotel room, a decent shower, fast wifi, a well-lit hotel room and bathroom so I can apply my makeup, a good quality room service menu, easy to adjust room temperature control…

I suppose the only real difference is that women are perhaps less likely to be willing to eat in a hotel restaurant by themselves or sit in a bar alone.

There are hotels providing special facilities for female executives on the move, generally based on upgraded bathroom amenities and more powerful hairdryers, while a few hotels have ‘women only’ floors.

The issue of whether women should get special treatment from hotels and airlines does not appear to be high on the agenda for travel managers, mostly due to the fact it has not been highlighted by female employees or HR.

Perhaps the focus should instead be on improving hotel stays, air travel and ground transportation for all solo business travellers, whether that’s men or women.