“The ‘bleisure’ paradigm describes a self-determined form of happiness that is rooted in the positive symbiosis of business and leisure time.” From: Leadership Report 2015: Franz Kühmayer, Zukunftsinstitut GmbH
Bleisure is moving. In every sense. The mixture of business and leisure represents a large growing trend of individuals extending business trips by two or three private days. Today, more than 60% of all business or work trips also include a private getaway, according to a multinational study published in May 2018, commissioned by Expedia Group Media Solutions. According to the Egencia 2018 Bleisure Trends survey (see chart), 68% of business travelers are now taking a Bleisure trip at least once a year among 9,000 customers in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The majority (55%) of the global study participants undertake on average less than six business trips per year.
Especially in North America, the trend is already picking up speed: 74% are considering booking or planning a business trip for recreational and vacation purposes in the next six months. By comparison, the Asia-Pacific region is 87% and Europe’s 68%. 32% of Europeans, 41% of North Americans and half in the Asia-Pacific region plan for a Bleisure trip.
The goal of their business trip is the biggest driver of the Bleisure decision for the Business Traveler (around 25%). In addition, the temporal proximity to the weekend is a factor (23%) and the proximity to friends and family (16%). Sightseeing is the most popular pastime on all occasions.
And the companies?
The travel guidelines of 67% of companies in Germany with up to 500 employees currently allow for a private extension of business trips, according to the VDR Business Travel Analysis 2017. For larger companies, it is at the moment 59%. For the business travel association VDR Bleisure, this can already be seen in the booking patterns, where, for example, at Airbnb 2016 over 50% of business bookings would have included an overnight rental from Saturday to Sunday. “Where the combination of travel events (still) meets with rejection, the existing compliance rules do not allow this, or there are questions about tax deferral or care obligations,” says the current VDR business travel analysis. For employees abroad, who usually have fewer holidays per year than those in Germany, the possibility of combining work and private stays is even more relevant.
Experience brands in a new way
Bleisure seems to be a growing desire for employees, which can be met by a significant number of companies – at least formally. For employers, this creates a special form of employee loyalty in times of competition for talent by being able to bind satisfied, loyal employees to the company in a special way by offering individualized business and work travel.
The travel industry has already taken a benevolent interest in some aspects of the trend. “Business travel is a lifestyle for many of our guests, and we see a growing need among them to add a leisure and vacation component to their travel and experience the destination behind the meeting room,” says Kelly Philipps, SVP Engagement & Strategic Accounts, Hilton. In 2017, the company, which is one of the world’s largest hotel providers, published a Bleisure survey with partners that examines the profiles of Bleisure travelers and their activities. BridgeStreet Global Hospitality, which had already published a Bleisure Report in 2014, also emphasises the new services that need to be created. “To meet both business travel and leisure customer needs, the industry needs to better inform its customers about what it has to offer and what they should see when they are there. They need to provide additional local services and really bring their brand to life,” says Kelly Murphy, VP Marketing BridgeStreet Global Hospitality. It’s all about experience, you could say. Rental companies like Airbnb have also been pointing in this direction with their initiatives for some time now.
Bleisure is therefore more than a passing trend, both in terms of the results of the studies and in view of the growing number of surveys commissioned. New Work, a new search for meaning and the desire for more flexibility – the newly invented working culture created by technology and the new generation of millennials make Bleisure a need that could, of course, be provided by both the employer and the travel provider tomorrow. Because working today is more than having to do something for somebody. Also because travel today is more than just tourism for tourists. It is the “self-determined form of happiness”.
Fotos: © iStock/ymgerman, Egencia (Grafik), privat
