Bleisure Travel combines business travel with leisure activities. Find out what makes bleisure travelers tick, why this type of travel is so popular and how you can inspire bleisure travelers.

Do you already work partially or completely remotely? Then you are in good company. This is because many companies now allow their employees to work from home or on the road instead of being in the office every day. Such hybrid and flexible approaches are becoming increasingly popular, bringing a new type of guest to hospitality businesses: Bleisure Travelers. Hotels are therefore also used as temporary offices for business travelers and locals looking for a change of working environment. Here we show you what this means in concrete terms for the hotel industry and what hotels can do to inspire bleisure travelers.

The term Bleisure Travelling has become established as a combination of the two terms Business and Leisure. He describes trips that combine both business and private elements. In practice, this typically means that business travelers extend the duration of their trip by a few days in order to enjoy some leisure activities on site and thus take full advantage of the trip. For example, sightseeing, hikes, events taking place, other entertainment options or simply a few extra days of relaxation are all part of a Bleisure Traveler’s program. The advantages:

• Increase in work morale
• Reduction of stress
• Greater willingness for business trips

The figures also show that bleisure travel is a popular trend. According to a Expedia survey of around 2,500 bleisure travelers, 60 percent of all business trips have now become bleisure trips – in Germany, the proportion is even higher at 65 percent. The average length is 7 days, which can be divided roughly equally between business and leisure.

The most frequently cited reasons for business travelers to extend their own trip are:

• The geographical distance of the destination from home
• An entertaining or active city
• The stay at a must-visit location
• Proximity to the weekend

The typical bleisure traveler

What other features characterize the Bleisure Traveller target group? Which sectors do they mainly come from? How often and with what frequency are you on business trips? Are you traveling alone or in company? These questions are the basis for optimizing the guest journey of bleisure travelers.

Overall, the results of the Expedia survey show that Bleisure Travelers tend to be experienced travelers. A business trip takes place every two to three months, lasting two to three nights on average. Afterwards, most travelers tend to extend the trip to a 7-day trip. With the main aim of discovering new places as part of the business trip and making the most of the time on site, the Bleisure trip is a mix of longer stays in the hotel itself and day trips in the surrounding area. An appropriate infrastructure and a comprehensive range of information are therefore essential for hotels if they want to attract Bleisure Travelers – more on this later.

The typical bleisure traveler also tends to travel alone rather than with friends or family, as the original reason for the trip is business. With entertainment offers, hotels can therefore increase the likelihood that guests will extend their business trip. In terms of sectors, 24% of all Bleisure Travelers come from the technology and IT industry. This is followed by the manufacturing industry with 13% and the financial sector with 12%.

Tip 1: Offer your guests fast and reliable internet in their hotel room and work areas

Bleisure travelers are initially business travelers. The basic requirement for a satisfactory stay is therefore always available, fast and reliable Internet so that they can work in the hotel without any problems. With the ASE-NET we offer you an infrastructure that makes life easy for your guests. High-speed Internet access based on the plug & play principle provides you with the network you need to work easily and conveniently in your hotel room. Separate hotel workspaces can also help guests to feel comfortable in the existing working atmosphere and separate the business part of their trip from the rest.

Tip 2: Personalize your offers

Like every other guest, the Bleisure Traveller wants a guest journey that is as personalized as possible. Business trips in particular often have the same destination. So use the data from your property management systems to offer your guests an even more unique and personalized experience during their next stay.

Tip 3: Present your leisure facilities

A business trip can put a strain on travelers’ nerves. This makes it all the more important to offer them great leisure facilities such as spas, saunas, fitness studios, yoga areas and bars. This shows your guests that you have a range of offers that they can use in their free time. What guest wouldn’t want to add a day or two to their stay so that they can make even more intensive use of your offers? For the presentation you can use our
ASE-FRAMES
or also our
ASE-TV
to quickly and easily provide your guests with information and current offers.

Tip 4: Advertise activities and events in the area

Show your guests what awaits them in the area. Take advantage of the attractive surroundings and convince them to stay a day or two longer to discover the region’s special features. Are there any sights or good restaurants nearby? Or an insider tip or two that you can recommend to your guests? Museums, theaters and other cultural attractions can also encourage your guests to extend their stay. The rule here is: the more there is to see, the longer the guest has to stay in order not to miss anything. As with your leisure facilities, you can also
Digital Signage
and the
ASE-TV
to provide your guests with all the important information they need.

Tip 5: Promote specific Bleisure offers

You can also actively promote Bleisure options and offers. This means that you can offer business travelers discounts on extra nights, for example, to encourage them to extend their trip. The sale of tickets for local attractions or events can also persuade travelers to extend their stay spontaneously.

Conclusion: Bleisure Travel is more than just a trend

Remote working has become commonplace for many employees today. According to a Study by Owl Labs 62 percent of 22- to 65-year-olds already work remotely at least occasionally. Combined with the urge to travel and discover new places, travelers inevitably want to be able to use hotels as temporary offices. A good opportunity for hotels to take advantage of the trend and adapt their offerings to the needs and wishes of travelers. Starting with plenty of sockets to free high-speed WiFi to good coffee, hotels have many options to make the Bleisure Traveler’s guest journey unique.

Digitalization is also helping enormously here by creating the necessary infrastructure for efficient bleisure travel. So use digital technologies to attract more guests and make your trip a special one.

Do you have any questions about anything to do with hotel digitization? Then we are the people to contact. Feel free to contact us so that we can optimize the guest journey together: https://kraftcom.de/kontakt

Copyright cover picture: Medienstürmer on Unsplash