Mancations? Now I've heard everything.

Tue Oct 10 16:48:46 EDT 2006
As if they don't already have it good enough, what with not having to
wax, give birth or have monthly cramps, now men have vacations
tailored just to their macho needs?

Check this out:

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Gene Grabarnick longed for a hotel with
all the things a man would want on a getaway with friends.

Where the concierge ushers guests to the hottest clubs. Where
requests, from hand-rolled cigars to a favorite beer in the mini-bar,
are unflinchingly filled. Where luxury is wrapped in sexy, swanky style.

So, he built it.

The Regent South Beach, the hotel Grabarnick developed here and plans
to open in October, is among businesses nationwide targeting guys
vacationing -- or as they like to say, "mancationing" -- with their
friends. They are offering everything from poker parties to hand-
rolled cigars, buckets of beer to sports tickets, all in hopes of
tapping a growing market.

"These trips are about a group of people that most likely met in
college and are sort of just extending their yesterdays," said Josh
Lesnick, president of I'm in!, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based business
founded last year that helps organize trips for groups of men. "It's
once a year or twice a year. It's sort of a rite of passage. It's
sacred territory."

It's also potentially big business. Research commissioned by I'm in!
found trips taken by friends -- male and female alike -- could
annually generate $11 billion in online sales and reservations alone.

Grabarnick said his concept for the Regent -- which features a glass-
bottom pool, Mercedes-Benz 500S house cars and 24-hour concierge
service -- was partly inspired by his own getaways with friends. They
jet off to places like Aspen, Colorado, and Costa Rica every few
months with a clear idea of what makes a perfect getaway.

"What my friends and I like," he said, "is what we're putting into
this hotel."

The Regent will offer a package targeting men with a penthouse room, a
private rooftop terrace with a hot tub and wet bar, round-the-clock
butler service and a choice of a luxury rental car such as a Porsche,
Bentley or Lamborghini.

Dozens of other places are getting into the mancation act, too.

At the Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, the "Dudes
on the Dunes" package includes a round of golf and an in-room poker
game with snacks and beer from $625 per person for two nights. The
Marquis Los Cabos Resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, includes surfing
lessons, golf, poker, cigars, beer, chips and guacamole in its man-
themed package from $490 a night. And the Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is offering "The Fishing Emanation," which
includes a fishing expedition and a chef to cook the catch of the day
starting at $725 per person.