For the past 20 years, I’ve lived most weeks out of my suitcase while traveling for work. And in that time, I’ve seen the rise of and become a “bleisure traveler.”
“Bleisure travelers,” as the name suggests, are people who add a few extra days of leisure to their business trips. They take advantage of being in another city they may not have otherwise visited – while the company is covering some of the cost. These trips are also referred to as micro-vacations.
The Rise of Bleisure Travelers
When I first started traveling for work in the early 1990s, my brand loyalty was chosen for me. We stayed at Hotel X and flew Airline Z, depending on where the company, or frankly, where the most senior person in the group had a loyalty program.
All that started changing in the late 90s and early 2000s. The rise of online travel agencies (OTAs) encouraged customers to shop around. Compounding that, social media exploded. Travelers had more options and information at their fingertips, plus a plethora of peer reviews, blogs, and social influencers who knew where the locals go at any given destination. All the pretty pictures, hashtags, and FOMO created an allure around experiences rather than destinations. This had a lasting and profound effect on the diminishing strength of brand equity as a reliable driver for hospitality brands.
The bleisure market is huge and rapidly growing – and contrary to what you may think, it’s not just comprised of millennials (who will make up 75 percent of the workforce in 2025). Here is a snapshot of some need-to-know data points:
So how can hotels and airlines attract and retain bleisure travelers? Let’s take a closer look at them. Bleisure travelers have three main needs:
- Information: They want easily accessible information about what’s relevant to them.
- Convenience: Unlike purely leisure trips where travelers are willing to venture out and endure some discomfort to reach a far-flung destination, bleisure trips are about convenience and utility: What can travelers experience nearby while staying at your hotel?
- Authenticity: Bleisure travelers want to live like locals.
Research shows that bleisure travelers are willing to share their information to receive more personalized results. (I know I am.) Bleisure travelers are also bigger spenders, because their companies are paying part of the tab.
