The term bleisure combines the words business and leisure. It refers to travel that combines business activities with leisure activities. Business and leisure travel has become increasingly important in recent decades. Traditionally, people who went on business trips were usually corporate execs and entrepreneurs. However, with remote working, freelancing, and digital nomads increasing, more and more people are seeking out information on bleisure travel. Recent reports show that 60% of business guests extend their trip into bleisure to enjoy the hotel amenities and destination’s activities. Because business trips occur year-round and are not seasonal, appealing to bleisure travelers may be a surefire way to boost your yearly revenue.
The bleisure tourism market represents a rewarding and exciting new opportunity for hotels. And using tools and technology like hospitality property management software, hotel managers and owners are interested in attracting as many of them as possible. In this article, we will discuss who is a bleisure traveler and how you can attract the bleisure traveler to your property.
Bleisure: What Are the Benefits?
In addition to improving morale and enhancing overall enjoyment of business trips, bleisure trips have numerous benefits for business travelers. The business travel element is also paid for by the company, so you are able to save on travel expenses. People who would otherwise not be able to take a vacation may be able to benefit from it.
The business world can also benefit from bleisure travel because of its productivity-boosting effects, and because employees are more likely to take part in leisure activities when they are allowed to do so. Leisure activities are not usually more costly than extending the trip or participating in leisure activities, so bleisure doesn’t usually increase the cost. Moreover, it enables business travelers to better understand the destinations in which they travel.
Additionally, as bleisure rises, business travelers will generally be able to extend their stay in hotels and spend more money over the course of their trip as a result.
Additionally, the Forbes article cites that 10 percent of all business trips are leisure trips, and 16 percent of hotel bookings for business trips now include Saturday stays, indicating the potential for leisure time or other trip extensions. The rate of business travel is also increasing, according to Statista (6).
Clearly, bleisure is a growing market for hoteliers, one that is destined to become a greater focus in the months and years to come.
8 Tips for Hotels Looking to Attract More Bleisure Travelers
- Hotel Technology
The 2019 State of Business Travel Survey by National Car Rental found that 93 percent of frequent business travelers prefer brands that use technology to streamline travel. The kind of technological innovations that could help here range from using IoT devices in hotel rooms, such as smart speakers, right through to using smartphone apps that allow users to pay for restaurants contactlessly.
- Providing high-quality business amenities for workstation
While on vacation, bleisure tourists will also be fulfilling their business travel obligations, so they will need to be able to work from their hotel rooms, to live the workaholic lifestyle. There is a big difference between the speed of the internet, the business corner, and other workstation facilities, such as coffee machines. Using this opportunity to their advantage, hotels can offer excellent amenities and charge a small rental fee.
- Connect with good distribution Channels
Lastly, you should pay attention to the distribution channels you use as well as those used by bleisure travelers. As corporate travel agents specialize in arranging business trips and planning business events for their clients, they could be able to boost the number of bleisure travelers you can attract. Similarly, consider the global distribution networks you employ, where they are popular, and where the bleisure travelers you hope to attract are most likely to originate.
- Introduce Personalisation
Personalization in hotels and resorts might be appealing to bleisure travelers because it typically leads to more efficient and precise processes or services. Greater personalisation can save time and improve comfort, allowing business travelers to get work done quickly and free up leisure time. From intelligent recommendations based on customer data to the ability to personalize hotel room conditions, such as smart heating controls, greater personalisation can save time and improve comfort, allowing business travelers to get work done quickly and free up leisure time.
- Tell them about your Business and Leisure Amenities
Another excellent strategy for hotels to attract business and leisure travelers is to highlight both business and leisure features.Corporate amenities, such as private meeting rooms, laptop or phone charging outlets, and any 24-hour services you may be able to provide, will pique the curiosity of a typical bleisure visitor. Additionally, leisure activities such as spas, saunas, gyms or fitness centers, yoga rooms, bars, and bicycle rental facilities may entice them.
- Advertise Things to Do in the Area
Hoteliers can also appeal to business travelers by emphasizing what is available outside of the hotel, such as activities to do in the surrounding area. There may be major landmarks or eateries nearby, for example, that you can recommend. Perhaps you might market local museums or tickets to local theaters. Travelers may be drawn to your location because of its beautiful beaches, nearby entertainment venues, or hiking trails.
- Promote Specific Bleisure Offerings
Finally, by actively advertising bleisure alternatives, hotels can appeal to the ordinary bleisure traveler. Offering business travelers a discount on extra nights to incentivize them to prolong their vacation, or offering corporate travelers specific bleisure packages, which could include discounts on extra nights as well as tours, tickets to local sites or events, are just a few examples. You might also add customer testimonials from bleisure travelers on social media platforms, advertise bleisure discounts in pre-stay emails, and highlight bleisure opportunities on your corporate website.
8. Leverage loyalty program
Bringing in corporate visitors, converting them to leisure visitors, and keeping them is a difficult task.This can be mitigated, though, by utilizing loyalty programmes.
Hotel loyalty programmes, in case you didn’t know, are reward-based marketing methods that are utilized for both visitor retention and new guest acquisition.
For example, you have had a bleisure booking with a company last year and they signed up for your loyalty program. This year, the company is planning to send its 10 top-performing employees to a different location (where you have your hotel’s other property) for work and vacation.
This is where a loyalty programme can assist you in obtaining repeat business.You can offer that company the opportunity to use their membership card to gain access to the property’s benefits.
Acquiring a new customer is anywhere 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing or old one.
Why not keep the ones you already have?
Because business travel is available all year, focusing on bleisure travelers might be quite beneficial. It may also account for a significant portion of business during the off-season, when hotels are unable to rely on their normal clients. Because business travel has evolved, hotels that provide business services are likely to appeal to a wider range of customers, including writers, photographers, programmers, and other self-employed professionals.
