- Rise of bleisure and hush trips blurs corporate duty of care
- Companies are struggling to adapt to evolving traveller behaviours and compliance risks
- Proactive solutions involve policy flexibility, transparency, and robust systems
The trend of bleisure continues to rise steadily, according to service providers, and Asian corporates are open to travellers mixing business with pleasure.
However, most are still “adapting to hush trips”, which refer to employees working remotely from a different city or country without disclosing or seeking approval.
Rebecca Malzacher, vice president, marketing H3S International, strategic projects, International SOS, said at the recent GBTA APAC Conference session Leisure & Hush Trips – Who Bears the Responsibility?, 64 per cent of participants believed hush trips were occurring within their organisations, yet only 73 per cent were familiar with the term.
“This disconnect highlights how quickly traveller behaviours are evolving and the urgency for organisations to ensure that their travel policies and support systems keep pace.
“As bleisure and hush trips become more common, the boundaries of responsibility are increasingly blurred, raising serious questions around an organisation’s duty of care, and its ability to support employees in unexpected situations.”
Industry grapples with new travel realities
A corporate travel manager in the pharmaceutical industry told TTGmice its leaders are watching the development, and he is now looking at what or what does not need to be put in place as “guardrails” if the organisation does not know where a traveller is and if he booked out of policy.
Another corporate travel manager in global retail product development, design, supply, manufacture and sales, while preferring to “say no entirely” to bleisure and hush trips, wants to explore extending travel insurance coverage from two days before and after to 10 days pre- and post-trip to address the “constant worry” and duty of care responsibilities.
Christine Connolley, BCD Travel, senior crisis programme manager, global crisis management, commented: “Globally, we’re seeing a steady rise in support for bleisure, particularly among companies that prioritise flexibility and give employees more control over how they manage time on the road.
“Tech is leading the charge, along with consulting, media, and professional services, industries where talent mobility and agile work models are already well established. These organisations view flexibility as a competitive advantage in today’s job market, a powerful tool for attracting and retaining talent, especially among younger employees.”
For traditional sectors like finance, legal, and manufacturing, Connolley pointed out they take “a more structured approach, often due to regulatory limitations and operational constraints”.
Although hush trips create compliance risks around tax, immigration and insurance, Connolley acknowledged flexible work has outpaced formal policy to support it.
“When the issue is addressed, it’s typically through HR or global mobility policies, not necessarily through a travel policy, as it touches broader compliance and oversight issues. Ideally, a cross-functional approach would include HR, legal, security and travel to help the company set expectations and manage the broader organisational risk,” she added.
Change in approach
BCD Travel has implemented a policy that allows employees to work remotely for up to 60 days per year from any of the 48 countries with an office location worldwide.
“It has helped us stay ahead of compliance while supporting flexibility and retention. More companies across APAC are beginning to take a closer look at how to manage these situations, building in flexibility where they can, but putting clearer structures in place to avoid compliance headaches.”
International SOS’ Malzacher observed a clear shift in corporate travel behaviour across the region, particularly among younger professionals who are more inclined to blend business with leisure, or take unapproved hush trips without informing their employers.
Travel patterns are also shifting. She continued: “With cost pressures and broader acceptance of remote work, companies are increasingly engaging in business travel to second-tier cities and non-traditional hubs, as operations become more decentralised. These destinations often carry less predictable risks, such as limited access to healthcare or variable infrastructure.”
As such, Malzacher advised companies to “foster a culture of transparency, where employees feel comfortable declaring leisure extensions without fear of penalty”. Building on this, organisations can then implement technology that maintains visibility and enables support throughout the entire trip, balancing employee privacy with duty of care responsibilities.
Malzacher concluded that success in today’s landscape hinges on investing in proactive education, effective systems, and a risk framework that supports employee autonomy while reinforcing corporate accountability.
