According to the owners - a group of Saudi business women - their hotel meets the current market demand in the country whose culture revolves around the Muslim religion and the male domination.
In the recent years, Saudi women have been playing an increasing role in the public and social life of the kingdom, traveling extensively around the country. However, in many cases hotels refuse to book rooms for women in advance unless it is done by a male guarantor.
Every Saudi woman must have a male guarantor, regardless of age. It could be her father, husband or any other male member of the family. Without the male's approval, a woman cannot study, work or travel abroad. Hotels in the country usually accommodate women as family members accompanying men.
But the owners of the new hotel say today's business women, who often travel to Riyadh on their own to attend various events or simply to visit expensive shops, find the current situation inconvenient, and the "female hotel" is intended to help them make their trips "more enjoyable."
