Mixing Business with Pleasure
Who says you can’t mix business with pleasure?! When it comes to work and travel, that might be just the right combination. LifeStyleSandbox.com gives us a glimpse into the new travel trend being led by savvy business travelers, Bleisure: blending business and leisure.
It can be tough for anyone to find the time for a vacation. If you are focusing on building a career or working to get a new business off the ground, making time for a break may seem nearly impossible. However, there some savvy trend setters that are doing just that. According to a FoundersCard survey, many entrepreneurs are extending business trips to make time for some leisure. FoundersCard (a membership community for founders of start-ups and senior executives) randomly selected 334 of its 20,000 members to find out how affluent business executives planned to spend their downtime in 2017. 81% of respondents said they had taken trips in the past that combined business and leisure. 51% said that they planned to add leisure to a business trip in 2017. Additionally, 23% of respondents said they planned to travel specifically for a change of scenery while working, which FoundersCard calls a "workcation."
This trend isn't limited to career driven executives or entrepreneurs. The rise of virtual tools makes it easier for everyone to manage personal and professional obligations remotely. It is now much easier to put a couple of days of personal travel around a business trip. So many professionals are opting to use this approach that the travel industry has given the phenomenon a name: "bleisure."
A recent study by Expedia Media Solutions found that 43% of all business trips, both international and domestic, are extended to include leisure activity. This is especially common with people who are traveling to another country for work and considering the expense and time commitment of international flights. According to the Bleisure Report by Bridgestreet Global Hospitality, more than half of those who extended a business trip brought family members or a significant other with them. This trend is especially relevant for Americans, since the Bureau of Labor reports that the average employee receives only 8 vacation days in the first year of work.
One of the biggest time investments employees make on their vacation is the time it takes to get to the destination. It can sometimes take a full vacation day just for travel. By tacking one or two days to the end of a business trip, travelers avoid taking the precious time off necessary for a traditional vacation scenario. If the company is already paying for the plane ticket, the traveler only needs to pay out of pocket for part of the expense of taking the vacation days.
The economics of this actually works for companies. In a Booking.com survey they found 30% of employees would even accept a lower paid job if it meant they could travel for work. Companies are finding bleisure travel can be a recruiting and retention tool for top talent.
This trend extends to mainstream employees. GBTA (Global Business Travel Association Foundation) reported in their Bleisure Study that 37% of North American business travelers extended a work trip into a leisure vacation in 2017. 42% hold middle management positions and have children at home. 44% brought someone for the leisure portion of the trip.
At the LifeStyle Sandbox on St. Simons Island, bleisure travelers can find a place for a workcation. Wall size white boards and smart TVs for business brainstorming and a beach for barefoot walking just outside the door. Call 800.916.5835 to learn more, or better yet, come visit at 507 Ocean Boulevard!
