BLEISURE has truly taken off in Asia. An October 2015 survey of 2,500 Asian business travelers by the Singapore Tourism Board showed that more than half consider travel to be a perk of their jobs, and almost the same number – some 48 per cent – want to build weekends or extra nights into their work-travel itineraries purely for leisure purposes.
For some it’s even more than that. Business travel is a lifestyle choice; a way of seeing the world without incurring substantial personal expense. These business travelers routinely take advantage of company-paid flights to explore a new city, tap into local culture, or simply to relax and unwind before or after business commitments. HRS data show the impact of this trend. Average stays are increasing in length, especially in key global cities such as Tokyo, London, and New York.
This is good news for the business travel industry, and also for companies – since having happier and more rested employees should lead to better business performance. However this trend also challenges all stakeholders to become ever more traveller-centric and really respond to the emerging needs and priorities of executives on the road.
When mixing business and leisure, travellers want to stay in the best locations, for the right price, with flexibility and convenience as standard. To meet these needs, HRS offers negotiated rates on more than 40,000 properties, a cancellation policy that allows travellers to change their plans up to the night before arrival, and a simple-to-use mobile app that works on all platforms. We expect that in 2016, mobile will account for a third of all HRS bookings.
In addition to having happier and more engaged employees, encouraging bleisure travel can lead to cost savings for companies. Travel managers are in a better position to negotiate with hotels if they can demonstrate a higher take-up of their corporate nightly rate. This, however, depends on having the relevant data, and makes it even more important that bookings go through the authorised channels.
The trend towards longer average stays is also advantageous for hotel groups, which are continuing to sharpen their focus on attracting the business-leisure traveler. This includes tailoring loyalty schemes, providing spa, dinner, or events packages, or simply creating an environment that encourages hotel guests to relax and socialise. Ensuring that business travelers enjoy their stay and become rapidly connected to the best of what the city has to offer is key to hotels’ ongoing competitiveness.
In today’s digital age, there is increasingly little separation between our personal and working lives. We’re looking to seamlessly blend social interaction and personal interests with a demanding 24/7 business environment. Against this backdrop, it seems that bleisure as a lifestyle choice can only continue to become more prevalent.
This is a positive development for corporates and the business travel industry, but also one that requires us to deeply understand and respond to emerging traveller priorities. If we don’t provide the right tools, options, and price points, our savvy customers can easily find their needs met elsewhere.
Todd Arthur is the managing director, Asia-Pacific of Hotel Reservation Service (HRS). HRS is a global hotel solutions provider and serves more than 40,000 corporate customers worldwide through its inventory of more than 300,000 hotels in 190 countries.
Todd Arthur’s core responsibilities include setting the business direction, driving organic growth with new and existing customers across Asia-Pacific markets, establishing strategic partnerships and talent development.
Article by Todd Author
