The concept of bleisure travel has existed for years but, recently, it’s been generating tremendous interest in the mainstream and travel industry press.
So, we thought that it was important for us to review what bleisure travel is and, more importantly, what does it mean for the people responsible for sourcing, managing and administering corporate business travel policies?
Bleisure is a portmanteau that describes business travel that includes a leisure component, typically achieved by adding a few days before or after a business trip for personal enjoyment. For as long as business travel has existed, travelers have extended their stays to enjoy the local scene, soak up some culture or just relax and unwind after a busy business trip.
Why the sudden interest in bleisure?
Post-pandemic, travel is so popular that, even in the face of surging gas prices and inflation, “revenge travel”– which describes the intent to travel as much as possible to make up for lost time – has been added to our cultural lexicon. Today, workers are more open about their desire for a work/life balance and unapologetic in claiming it so it’s not surprising that bleisure travel is booming – and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
If bleisure travel has existed for years, why haven’t we always acknowledged the practice openly?
For one, bleisure travel has historically only been available to employees who routinely travel as part of their job responsibilities. In addition, like business travelers accumulating credit card, hotel and airline loyalty points during corporate funded trips, bleisure travel is popular, difficult to police and many organizations choose to simply avoid the issue entirely.
How to Bleisure
At Vindow, we support all types of travel and bleisure is no exception. In our opinion, it’s fair compensation for those who can take advantage of it; consider that the typical “road warrior” business traveler will rack up thousands of air miles a year and spend countless night in hotels, meaning they spend irrecoverable time away from home, friends and family for the benefit of their employer. Ongoing, consistent travel can be exhausting, and happy employees are more productive and loyal to employers who value them as a whole person.
That being said, openly embracing a travel policy that allows non-essential leisure travel in conjunction with legitimate business travel does have important implications for an employer. We interviewed Human Resources expert, Patty Brunton, to ask how an organization should protect itself and their employees when they are on a bleisure trip:
Q: Why codify Bleisure in your Business Travel Policy?
A: “It’s important to remember that employees traveling on company business enjoy the same local, state and federal protections as their desk-bound coworkers. For example, when traveling on company business, employees are entitled to workers’ compensation protection, “door to door,” throughout their trip. Adding personal travel to a business trip can blur the lines of that coverage and cause potential problems for an employee if they are injured while traveling.”
To address this issue, we would suggest that a comprehensive business travel policy should include clear rules that define the demarcation between the business and leisure components of a trip. Employers should consider adding clarifying language to their travel policy to address issues that may be related to bleisure travel, such as Liability and Workers’ Compensation protections, billing and cost controls, tax and compensation issues, compliance issues and Code(s) of Conduct.
Q: How can we make Bleisure more “Blesurable”?
A: “With all the potential issues surrounding bleisure travel, it can be easy to get discouraged and simply ignore – or worse – forbid the practice, but that would be a mistake. There are some simple steps to make bleisure travel accessible and safe for everyone. Create and communicate explicit business travel policies that include the rules, limitations, expectations and obligations when employees are both on, and off, the clock. Ensure that all employees understand the exact delineation between work and personal time.”
Regarding the issue of fairness, we agree with Patty because we believe that the solution is to expand the program to more employees (rather than restricting or forbidding it). Travel-related incentives are consistently the most popular form of employee recognition and are shown to increase productivity and employee retention; so, why not add individual travel incentives to your employee recognition program?!
Some savvy companies even offset the cost of their employee recognition program by pooling loyalty points from all their business travelers to create individual trip packages that reward deserving employees from across the organization.
The Bottom Line
Travel brings people together; it connects us to the larger world around us and helps us forge better, more productive and more empathetic relationships. At Vindow, we encourage our customers (and prospective customers!) to consider embracing bleisure travel as a win/win scenario.
To discover more ways that Vindow enables better business travel, visit us at www.vindow.com.