Attracting and Accommodating Bleisure Travelers

Bleisure describes the melding of business and leisure travel – a growing demographic of explorers who fuse work commitments with moments of relaxation and cultural immersion. Though the term has bounced around the hospitality industry since 2009, hotels are still learning how best to attract and accommodate this valuable market sector.

A Closer Look

The rise of bleisure travelers reflects the shifting landscape of work and travel, especially post-pandemic. The advent of remote work and flexible employment structures empowered professionals with greater control over their schedules. As a result, 77% of business travelers during 2023 showed intent to extend their trips for leisure purposes. This, alongside 1 in 3 consumers planning business excursions during the year, clearly demonstrates a burgeoning market sector ripe for capitalization. 

Bleisure travel also aligns with the consumer quest for enrichment. Candidly, this is true of all travelers, with 74% of people caring more about creating a travel experience that meets their expectations than the cost. Still, hospitality businesses can hone in on this trend to accommodate business travelers seeking to maximize their trips. This component is vital, as most bleisure travelers (82%) choose to stay at the same hotel for their trip's business and leisure portions. Meaning hotels must empower guests to optimize the value of their travels by helping to merge business commitments with additional leisure components.

How to Accommodate Bleisure Travelers

Naturally, accommodations must understand the needs of bleisure travelers to capitalize on their business.

Digital amenities take precedence. Simple yet accurate. Bleisure travelers have high technological standards – properties must meet or exceed these demands to stand out in such a competitive environment. This pertains to each step of the travel journey, from delivering an intuitive digital booking experience where prospective guests can evaluate room availabilities to incorporating smart technologies throughout a property that simplifies and streamlines the guest experience – think mobile-based room management apps to control the living environment, hotel web-apps the enable fast room service orders or service purchases, and contactless check-in procedures that mitigate wait times.

Read more about the balance between technology and the human touch at check-in.

High-speed internet is also a non-negotiable. Digital devices are a huge part of travel now, with an overwhelming majority of travelers using gadgets to book and curate their trips. But with the rise of remote work and virtual meetings, guest access to reliable internet becomes evermore paramount. Parties should be able to upload and download content with ease, all while maintaining a stable connection to Zoom calls and other video commitments. 

Physical accompaniments to these digital assets are just as important – ergonomic desks, comfortable work chairs, and even communal meeting spaces. These amenities facilitate work-related tasks and are a key consideration for bleisure travelers when booking accommodation. 

The fusion of business and leisure often leads to families traveling together between work commitments. As such, some guests require access to childcare services or kid-friendly amenities. Hotels can bolster their appeal by offering family-sized guestrooms that accommodate both productive work activities and family leisure – suites with separate bedrooms are a worthwhile consideration. Outside of the guestrooms themselves, hotels can add value with onsite pool facilities (if realistic and possible), playgrounds, recreation rooms, or childminding services. Realistically, leisure facilities for all ages and demographics yield value. In-house fitness centers, spas, rooftop bars, restaurants, and libraries not only help business travelers unwind and recharge after work hours but also offer more convenience than external alternatives.

Convenience remains a key consideration throughout the entire guest experience. While WiFi upgrades and ergonomic workspaces accommodate business tasks, bleisure travelers conscious of making the best use of their time appreciate the same degree of convenience when it comes to leisure. Empowering guests with reliable, curated recommendations can separate a hurried and unsatisfying bleisure trip from a memorable and enriching travel experience. This is where hospitality can leverage digital solutions.

Digital concierge ecosystems maximize the hotel guest experience by delivering reliable travel recommendations on demand. These modern-era services foremost satiate the demand for experience-led travel. But they also grant guests the autonomy and self-sufficiency that they’ve come to expect during the digital era. The mitigation of travel research is also a valuable benefit, further delivering on the want for an optimized and efficient itinerary – guests can focus on family and personal time between work commitments rather than spending hours completing localized travel research. 

Hotels themselves experience a return on investment too. Leveraging a digital concierge platform minimizes in-house operations and outsources the recommendation process, reducing labor demands and overall business workload. Staff are subsequently better equipped to deliver exceptional service with more time on their hands and a fluid directory of curated travel recommendations at their disposal. These dynamics contribute to a more satisfying guest experience that then maximizes business profitability. 

Reaching Bleisure Travelers 

Ultimately, hotels must successfully communicate with bleisure travelers to capture their business – amenities alone are often not enough. Properties should look to highlight their bleisure offerings, whether through social channels, on booking sites, or via targeted marketing communications.

Read more about how leveraging guest information allows businesses to optimize marketing and engagement efforts.

Hotels can even utilize OTAs or their own booking platform to offer bleisure-targeted promotions. Segmenting special packages for the bleisure target audience both advertises appropriate amenities and is a simple way to make potential customers feel special.

Finally, properties must simply engage with their bleisure guests throughout their travel journey – from booking to post-departure. Again, this highlights the importance of guest data collection. Gathering information about the purpose of a visit at the point of booking empowers hotels and their staff to deliver personalized hospitality, whether offering late-night car services to accommodate sporadic business flights and meetings or having tailored upgrade packages ready upon check-in. These service nuances exemplify a property’s dedication to exceptional guest experience and help bolster its reputation.

Digital assets and services – high-speed WiFi, smart room management, and digital concierges – are powerful tools for hospitality businesses to cater to bleisure travelers, but they are best used as complements to exceptional staff-to-guest service. 

The Bottom Line

Bleisure travelers are a highly valuable market sector – and they are here to stay. Hotels and other accommodations must position themselves to successfully capture this business. This means delivering on both elements of travel: business and leisure. Appropriate amenities are essential, as is thoughtful and targeted marketing. 

Ultimately, bleisure travelers want an efficient, digitally-enhanced experience that facilitates memorable leisure travel alongside fulfilling their work commitments. Properties that can improve how guests combine business with pleasure set themselves as a standard within the hospitality industry. 

The Tipsiti Approach 🔗

As a digital concierge solution, Tipsiti empowers you to deliver exceptional guest service and improve profitability. The platform harnesses the power of localized, insider travel recommendations to ensure your hotel guests make the most of their travels. Platform users can confidently explore cities using interactive maps highlighting curated, expert-vetted destinations – whether it’s beloved neighborhood lunch stops that slip through the fingers of less personalized travel guides or high-energy live music venues that provide relief after a day of business commitments. Tipsiti’s recommendation directory is entirely customizable by filter, category, and preference, seamlessly meeting the demands of travelers seeking personalized experiences. 

There’s no need for expensive POS infrastructure, additional labor costs, or expensive upkeep payments; Tipsiti is a centralized web app filled with features designed to supercharge your hospitality.

Paired with Tipsiti, you can exceed guest expectations in-house and beyond your front door.