What do you get when more and more business travelers extend their stay at their destination for leisure purposes? Bleisure travel is the awful moniker coined to define what is undoubtedly a growing trend in the travel industry, as the blurring of personal and professional lives of travelers increases on a global level.

1. Frédéric Gonzalo

2. What do you get when more and more
business travelers extend their stay at
their destination for leisure purposes?

3. Bleisure travel is the awful moniker
coined to define what is undoubtedly a
growing trend in the travel industry, as
the blurring of personal and
professional lives of travelers increases
on a global level.
Others refer to this recent phenomenon
as “bizcations” where the business trip
leads to a short vacation, with some
rest & relaxation – also known as R&R.

4. According to a recent survey by Pullman
Hotels, conducted by the research firm
Ipsos, and looking at the behaviors of 2,200
seasoned international travelers, company-owned
mobile devices are indeed very
much at the heart of their everyday travel
behaviors, as reported by Skift:

5.  43% of international travelers always take their
mobile professional devices with them on holiday or
on weekend trips;
 The Chinese and the Brazilians are “blurring”
champions and the most connected travelers. 79%
and 71% respectively have at least one mobile
professional device (compared with 60% in the other
countries);
 French and German travelers are the ones that blur
their professional and private lives the least;
 The French have a very negative opinion of the use of
mobile professional devices. Most notably, 59% of
them believe it to be a source of stress;
 43% of the survey sample acknowledges that they
work before going to their workplace.

6. While these statistics point towards a very real
potential conflict between personal time and
business, it also underlies another phenomenon
where business travelers are now more upfront
about going on some business trips with spouse
and even sometimes children. According to a
US report published by Orbitz in 2012, polling
600 American business travelers, 72% said that
they take extended executive trips that have a
leisure component. And 43% had a significant
other accompany them on a business trip!

8. Knowing how much vacation time
goes unused by most Americans,
specially compared to Europeans,
this can therefore represent a great
opportunity for destinations
catering to the American business
traveler segments. Europeans cities
and most big American cities can
reap the rewards from this trend,
where a business trip to Paris can
be extended into a weekend in
London, Belgium or South of
France, or a trip to Philadelphia or
New York be followed up on the
seashore to Atlantic City, for
example. Of course, many may
decide to extend their stay in the
city where the conference or
meeting took place, to discover and
make the most of their hotel
rooms.

9. The challenge that ensues is how
to communicate or promote to
the road warrior when the very
definition of this road warrior is
evolving due to mobile
professional devices and the
evolution of travel technologies.

10. This is where savvy online marketers,
mobile and social media practitioners
can gain a competitive edge, as can
be seen with many luxury hotel chains
such as Fairmont, Four Seasons, IHG,
Marriott, Hilton or Starwood. Many of
these luxury hotels mine social
media to enhance the customer
experience prior, during and after the
stay in their establishment.

11. In this evolving context, younger
business travelers are showing
different behaviors than their
predecessors, according to a
recent survey conducted by
Expedia and its business travel
arm, Egencia, with 8,500
travelers in 24 countries. Among
some of the highlights:

12. 18-30 year olds take more leisure
trips (4.2 mean) than those 31-45
(2.9 mean) and 46-65 (3.2 mean).
 In North America, 54% of 18-30 year olds
bring a significant other on a business
trip, versus 36% of 31-45 and 16% of 46-
65.
 Globally, 42% of 18-30 year olds say they
would spend more of the company’s
money on high-end meals, compared to
26% of 31-45

13. Not surprisingly, the study also found
that younger business travelers are
much more vocal on review sites such
as TripAdvisor or Yelp, not necessarily
because they are more outspoken but
perhaps more simply because this
always-on generation was brought up
with sharing platforms as part of their
daily life.

14. Source: Harris Interactive – Expedia

15. Now that the Meetings, Incentive,
Corporate & Events (MICE) segment of
the travel industry tends to blur with
more traditional leisure travel
behaviors, needs and wants, how will
hospitality stakeholders take notice
and adapt their approach?

16. How can destinations embrace this new
reality and keep travelers longer, to spend
their dollars with hotels, restaurants and
other attractions within the city or resort?
There is certainly an opportunity here, and
it will be interesting to see how this trend
unfolds and which destinations make the
most of it…

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