Women Golfers Get Down to
Business On The Links; Starwood Hotels Study Says Female
Execs Do More Deals During Golf Than Men
While
all executives find golf to be a vital part of business,
a new study by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.
(NYSE:HOT) finds that female executives believe golf is
an especially important business activity.
Women
do more deals on the links than men, see a greater
correlation between the way someone behaves on the golf
course and their behavior in business, and are less
likely than men to throw a golf game to get more
business. But the fairer sex isn't always so fair on the
fairway. Women are also more likely than men to say they
cheat at golf.
"From
The Boardroom to the Back Nine: The Importance of Golf in
Business"(a), a study by Starwood commissioned to
support the hotel company's new Starwood Golf Vacations
program, found that men and women executives behave
differently on the golf course. Specifically:
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Many more women
than men (63% vs. 43%) claim their "biggest
business or sales deal has been made while
playing golf". Women are also less likely
than men (13% compared to 21%), to let a client
beat them "even if they thought it would
help to get business".
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Women more than
men, (75% vs. 58%), believe "the way a
person plays golf is very similar to how he / she
conducts their business affairs".
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Women tend to bet
less often than men (69% to 87%) but are more
likely to drink on the links (50% vs. 42%) than
their male counterparts.
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Women are less
likely than men to throw (13% to 27%) or break a
club (6% to 13%).
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However, women
admit to cheating slightly more than men at golf
(88% to 82%) and more women than men would
"rather get a hole-in-one than see their
child hit a home run" (19% vs. 10%).
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Women are also
more likely than men to say "golf is more
important than sex" (13% compared to 11%).
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Significantly
more women than men believe if "women played
more golf they would succeed more at
business" (69% compared to men at 43%). More
women than men "feel playing golf is a good
way to relieve business stress" (100%
compared to men at 91%).
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88% of women vs.
68% of men "usually schedule playing golf
around other family activities".
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Women tend to
charge less golf-related expenses to their
company in a typical year compared to men;
average for men is $1485, women is $953. Their
golf handicaps (17 on average) compare favorably
to men (14 on average). Men average 46 rounds of
18 holes of golf per year, compared to 30 rounds
for women.
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Starwood
Launches "Starwood Golf Vacations"
Conducted
by Guideline Research & Consulting Inc., "From
The Boardroom To The Back Nine" surveyed 401
business executives and CEOs with an average household
income of $187,000. Starwood commissioned the survey as
part of its research and development for Starwood Golf
Vacations. Launching today, Starwood Golf Vacations
provides golfers with a one-stop-shop golf vacation
hotline to more than 80 of Starwood's premier golf
resorts around the world as well as access to USA PGA
TOUR Tournament Player Club championship courses.
Starwood's Golf Vacations' Concierge will take care of
accommodations, airfare, car rental, guaranteed advance
tee times and more, offering a passport to 4,536 holes of
golf worldwide. Simply call 1 866 4 GOLF SW or book
online at www.starwood.com/golf.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure
companies in the world with more than 740 properties in
more than 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned
and managed properties. With internationally renowned
brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator
and franchiser of hotels and resorts including: St.
Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four
Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood
Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers
and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership
resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwood.com
(a) This study conducted by
Guideline Research and Consulting Inc.
of New York City is a nationwide
survey of business and
organization executives who play
golf. The executives were
randomly selected from over
10,000 names, and organizations
operating in the continental
United States, compiled by a
nationally known sampling
company. In order for a respondent
to qualify for the study, they
had to hold a senior position
(e.g. Vice President or higher)
in their organization, or have
a household income over $100,000
annually in a senior sales,
supervisory, or managerial
position. Each respondent had to
have played six or more rounds of
eighteen holes of golf per
year. A total of 401 total
interviews were completed. There
were no quotas put on gender for
this study. Many more men
were randomly interviewed than
women. Therefore the data
should be used for directional
purposes only. The survey took
over 22 minutes to administer and
complete, and has a margin
of error on the totals of plus or
minus four to six percentage
points. The margin of error for
subgroups is higher.
Interviewing was conducted from
April 1 to April 26th, 2002.
Consumers interested in obtaining
a copy of the study
may call 1 866 4 GOLF SW.
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