Managing Bleisure Travel

In the past year, more than a third of North American business travelers extended a work trip into a leisure trip, according to a February and March survey by the Global Business Travel Association and Hilton of 675 people over 22 who traveled at least once for business in the past year.

Bleisure travel rose 1 percentage point year over year, but GBTA expects that to increase as corporate culture changes. As more companies invest in employee well-being, "employees may have greater flexibility to take bleisure trips," the report stated.

Implications

Of the travelers who extended their work trips, 44 percent traveled with someone else for the leisure portion. A travel companion joining the business portion of the trip could increase costs for the traveler's company. "If this practice is widespread, it can pose challenges for corporate travel programs," according to GBTA. Travelers could spend more on meals, flights or hotels to accommodate companions. Additionally, extending a work trip into the weekend means extending it into more expensive peak travel times.

"While most companies expect travelers to cover leisure expenses, it can be difficult to establish reasonable guidelines for enforcing these expectations," the report noted. "If a leisure component adds only a small amount—say five percent—to an airfare, is it reasonable to expect travelers to pay?"

While companies are legally obligated to help travelers during business trips, safety and security for the employee and his or her companion gets tricky for the leisure portion of a trip. On their last bleisure trips, 12 percent of business travelers needed assistance from their companies or travel arrangers for issues like rebookings, lost baggage and medical emergencies. "Even though companies routinely provide safety-related services to their travelers—such as travel insurance, risk intelligence, concierge services and a 24/7 helpline—they may not automatically provide these for the leisure portion of the trip," according to GBTA.

However, there can be upside, as well. Considering 82 percent of bleisure travelers stayed at the same location for both portions of the trip, bleisure travel could help companies achieve greater savings if both portions of a trip are booked through company channels. "They may help their company achieve more room nights with preferred properties," according to GBTA. "On the other hand, if these travelers book the leisure component separately through company channels, their company may face additional TMC fees."