By Hedy Khoo

See that colour? See that icon?

It's for you, ladies.

If you drive to the Furama RiverFront Hotel on Havelock Road, you can park in these pink lots.

Seven lots on the ground floor of the hotel's carpark are reserved for women drivers.

What's the idea, though?

Are women such lousy drivers they need special lots to park their cars?

Not at all, said Mr Vincent Kerk, 44, the hotel's general manager.

'It's a fallacy that women are bad drivers,' he said.

Pampered guests

'Women deserve to be pampered, and this is our hotel's way of taking care of our female guests.'

He came up with the idea after the opening of the hotel's in-house spa last November.

The hotel had received feedback from several of the spa's clients, mostly women, about the lack of parking space during their visits and decided on a creative approach to solve the issue.

The hotel's carpark has seven decks and 278 lots in all, with two reserved for handicapped drivers.

Said Mr Kerk: 'At first we reserved three lots for the spa's clients, but decided to dedicate more lots for female guests of the hotel for their convenience.'

Mr Kerk pointed out that safety was also a consideration as the ladies-only lots are located on the ground floor.

'Female guests need only walk less than 15 metres to get into the hotel lobby, and it's easier for those in high heels,' he said.

Also, female guests who come with their young children in prams have an easier time getting to the lobby.

So far, the hotel has received positive feedback from its clients.

'We also have male guests who comment that it's thoughtful of our hotel to reserve these lots for the ladies,' said Mr Kerk.

On the whole, most of the hotel's male guests respect the 'Ladies Only' sign, but a few still park in those lots.

'But it's not a problem. Once our security officer approaches them and tells them nicely that those lots are only for ladies, most of them get so embarrassed they move off.

'Some of their faces turn as pink as our lots,' added Mr Kerk with a laugh.

One regular spa patron who also frequents the restaurants at the hotel, Miss Tina Ow, an associate magazine publisher in her mid-30s, said she appreciated the ladies-only parking spaces.

She has been parking at those lots on recent visits.

Said Miss Ow: 'It is interesting and innovative of the hotel to have these lots for ladies. It's a nice privilege to have as a female guest.'

Miss Vivian Chak, 28, a marketing executive, also welcomes the idea of reserving lots for women and hopes it can be done at other carparks.

'I don't like to walk in carparks alone, especially at night, so it's a good idea to have parking lots near the entrance for female drivers,' she said.

One male driver we spoke to was not keen on the idea.

'I think it's discrimination,' said Mr Andrew Keitley, 36, a director of logistics.

'It's a silly idea.'

Miss Marilyn Teo, 29, a sales manager, also felt there was no need to have lots reserved for women.

'We can just park in normal lots. We are not handicapped,' she said.

'I would feel a little odd parking in a bright pink lot.'

However, she admitted she would still park in such a lot if it was convenient.

This article was first published in The New Paper.