Special Reports Sponsored Sections Reader's Services Subscriptions Businesswomen Want a Fair Deal By Roger Collis International Herald Tribune - WHEN I first wrote about the problems facing women traveling on business, it was a story of harassment, humiliation, loneliness, discomfort and danger. And there were signs that the travel trade was starting to shape up, abandoning its more egregious practices, such as bawling out room numbers across the lobby, assuming that a man and woman checking in together want a double room or asking a woman to prove she is a registered guest when ordering a drink in the lounge. Today, it seems, little has changed - according to the results of a survey conducted recently by Total Research Corporation of Princeton, New Jersey. The survey, to be published in September, reflects the views of 217 women in the United States and 136 in Britain who travel frequently. But performance scores were at least one point lower in each case.
Some improvements are in progress, however.
Summit International's Royal Park Hotel in Tokyo has opened a check-in desk for women travelers with a female clerk who can advise on entertainment and dining venues. London is getting a new chain of ''female friendly'' bars called The Fine Line. The first two Fine Lines opened in June at 33-37 Northcote Road, Battersea and 236 Fulham Road. Another four are due to open by the end of the year.