Taken from the movie ‘The Break-Up’ [2006], the term ‘Mancation’ has spread like wildfire across the American hotel business. The concept of gender-specific vacations, as Jayne Clark, USA Today puts it, has “been around since the first caveman took his club and went hunting with the others in the tribe.” Hotels and resorts initially tailor made packages for all-girl getaways and have now moved onto promoting all-male trips, male-bonding vacation packages which include practically everything from poker to extreme sports to spa treatments. All-male vacations mostly offer golfing, however, unique programme have been developed to accommodate trends in the industry, with the latest mancation packages offering yoga, sexual reawakening, culinary tips, and even spiritual healing.
An online survey indicates that males take at least one mancation every year. An estimated 20 million American men go on mancations annually, and spend a collective sum of $10-12 billion. Meanwhile, a study conducted by Synovate Research Company in 2008 indicated that close to 42% of men had taken a mancation, while a further 42% indicated they would like to go on one in the future. Of the surveyed population, two-thirds chose a bourbon-themed trip over a luxury getaway destination.
Top hotel networks in 2007 divided mancations into packages for ‘metrosexuals’ and ‘retrosexuals’. The ‘metro’ packages include glamour and cosmetic procedures, while the ‘retros’ are high on luxury and rich food. Summer 2006 saw 50% of the Fairmont Hotel Chain in the US creating mancation packages. One of them included a three-course steak dinner, a cocktail seminar, whiskey tasting, cigars, and poker. At present, the number of man booking ‘mancations’ is fairly small, but the idea seems to be slowly catching on, and in time could prove to be fairly popular.