What is bleisure travel?
Bleisure travel combines ‘business’ and ‘leisure’. It is undertaken by corporate travellers who want to explore a destination a little deeper than traditional business travel would allow. It typically involves an employee extending a work trip to enjoy a bit of personal time, whether outside office hours or as dedicated personal leave days.
Bleisure travel has become a major trend In recent years thanks to flexible working arrangements and a growing focus on work-life balance. Employers understand the benefits in terms of employee satisfaction and reduced travel fatigue, while travellers appreciate the opportunity to add a bit of fun and relaxation to business trips.
The hospitality industry is increasingly recognising the opportunity presented by bleisure travel too. By accommodating these guests, hotels can get high-value corporate travellers to stay longer, spend more, and become loyal repeat customers.
This guide shows how hotels can capitalise on bleisure travel to secure more bookings, generate more revenue and make more profit.
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Why is bleisure travel important for hotel owners?
The bleisure travel market is important for hotel owners because corporate travellers typically spend more, and bleisure travel leads them to extend their stays. These longer stays also create opportunities to boost guest loyalty and word of mouth referrals, as bleisure travellers often return with family or recommend the property to friends.
The opportunity presented by this travel trend is enormous. 42% of all consumers said they are planning a bleisure trip. The size of the global bleisure travel market is expected to more than double from US$762 billion in 2025, to US$1.7 trillion by 2032.
Because corporate guests are less price-sensitive, they’re more likely to book a premium room and spend on ancillary services like dining, wellness and leisure activities. Business travellers typically spend around 25% more than leisure travellers.
From a strategic perspective, bleisure travellers allow hotels to maintain occupancy in slower periods. Because business travel is weekday-focused and isn’t weather dependent – if anything corporate guests tend to avoid peak travel periods – it helps hotels fill rooms in quiet times. By extending those trips, you maximise the value of each guest in the trickiest times of the week and year.
By catering to typical bleisure traveller needs and wants – flexible check-in, co-working spaces, curated local experiences – a hotel can position itself as the preferred destination for both business and extended leisure stays.
Key takeaways
- Bleisure travellers stay longer than corporate guests and spend more than leisure travellers on rooms and amenities.
- Hotels can boost occupancy during slower periods by attracting bleisure guests.
- Catering to bleisure travellers builds loyalty and increases repeat and referral bookings.
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What do recent bleisure travel statistics reveal about traveller behaviours?
- Over half of business travellers take the opportunity to explore local areas on work trips.
- 67% of bleisure trips begin with a conference.
- On average, bleisure travellers take 6.4 trips per year.
- 17% of bleisure trips last 4+ nights, 31% last 3 nights, 39% last 2 nights; 12% last 1 night.
Recent bleisure travel statistics reveal specific traveller behaviours that hotels can leverage to capture more bookings and revenue. But digging a little deeper into the numbers reveals that hotels should sell local experiences, reward loyalty, and maximise the value of every stay.
Over half of all business travellers seek to explore whatever destination their work has sent them to. This reveals that no matter where a worker is sent, or why they’re sent there, a sense of curiosity is a constant – most want to see what the local area has to offer.
Two-thirds of bleisure trips begin with a conference, which means businesses will look to book hotels with on-site conference facilities, while bleisure travellers will keep an eye on the non-work amenities. The best hotels will offer both.
Finally, bleisure stays are typically quite short – only one in six extends beyond three nights – so travellers will look for accommodation providers that allow them to maximise their limited time, potentially through organised tours. The good news for hotels is that, while short, these stays are numerous, with the average bleisure traveller taking a trip every two months.
Key takeaways
- Over half of business travellers actively seek local experiences during work trips.
- Most bleisure trips start with a conference, making hotel business amenities essential.
- Hotels must work to maximise the value of the frequent, short trips that bleisure travellers typically take.
How can hotels capitalise on the growing bleisure travel trend?
Keeping the statistics above in mind, what can a hotel do to capitalise on the bleisure travel market?
1. Work & play packages
Business travellers want to explore the destinations they’re sent to. A hotel should actively encourage this exploration by developing work and play packages that give guests the opportunity to experience the culture, attractions, and experiences of the local area when their laptops are closed. Remember that bleisure stays are typically short, so any tours and experiences need to be run frequently and efficiently, and ideally scheduled outside of work hours.
2. Create flexible coworking spaces
With 67% of bleisure trips starting with a conference, on-site meeting facilities are a must for any hotel looking to attract these travellers. Your guests will also look for versatile co-working spaces with all the amenities they might need, so they can work efficiently and give themselves more time to relax and explore.
3. Partner with local attractions
Consider partnering with other travel businesses to develop a compelling bleisure offering. Perhaps a local tour agency could pick up your guests at the end of the workday and take them on a culinary tour of your area. Or perhaps you can negotiate a deal for discount tickets to a local attraction, in return for sending all your bleisure guests there. These collaborative partnerships can be a win for all involved.
4. Extend your stay incentives
Only 17% of bleisure stays are currently longer than three nights. This indicates an opportunity to incentivise your guests to stay longer, perhaps with deals like ‘stay six nights, get the seventh free’. Bleisure travellers can be more open to extending their stays than other guests, as their employer typically covers work-related costs.
5. Flexible dates on bookings
Business is dynamic, so corporate travellers tend to value flexibility. By offering bleisure guests the ability to adjust their booking dates to changing circumstances, you can give them the confidence they need to reserve a room. Flexible booking policies act like insurance – providing peace of mind that builds booking confidence, even if circumstances don’t change.
Key takeaways
- Work and play packages encourage bleisure travel and help guests to maximise their time.
- Coworking and conference facilities are key to attracting bleisure travellers.
- Incentives, flexible booking policies and local partnerships encourage longer, more valuable stays.
What tools or technology can help you capture the bleisure travel market?
To capture the bleisure travel market, hotels need technology that allows them to reach the right audience, convert them into guests, and deliver the sort of experience that will keep them coming back. An all-in-one platform like SiteMinder addresses each of these needs.
Technology plays a crucial role in converting bleisure travellers, who are influenced by convenience, flexibility and value-added experiences. By combining channel management, direct booking tools and guest engagement features, SiteMinder provides an all-in-one platform that allows hotels to target the bleisure travel market and increase both occupancy and revenue.
You can dynamically adjust rates based on traveller type and length of stay, promote special packages like work-and-play deals, and present these offers across all your booking channels through a single screen.
On arrival, guest engagement tools allow you to personalise communications in a way that enhances the stay and encourages long-term loyalty. You can promote local experiences, upsell extended stays and better understand the needs and behaviours of bleisure guests.
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FAQs on bleisure travel
What are the benefits of bleisure?
For hotels, bleisure travel extends the average length of stay for big-spending corporate travellers, and provides your guests with the type of relaxing and enjoyable experience that they’re more likely to remember, share and want to revisit.
How does bleisure travel cater to Millennial travellers?
Millennials typically prioritise work-life balance, which makes bleisure travel very appealing. Local cultural activities can also present the sort of deeper, more meaningful travel experience that many Millennials prioritise.
When did bleisure travel start?
While it’s been a thing for decades, the term ‘bleisure travel’ started gaining traction in the early 2010s, as remote work capabilities improved and corporate travellers began turning business trips into vacations.
