The battle for bleisure travel
When you hear “business travel,” what comes to mind? A male executive hustling through the airport with a briefcase and garment bag in tow? What about “leisure travel?” You might picture a family decked out in Hawaiian shirts, lugging suitcases and souvenirs. If so, think again.
Today, business travel and leisure travel are virtually indistinguishable as a new type of traveler has emerged: the bleisure traveler. Hotelier service offerings and property operations have shifted to accommodate the marriage of business and leisure, but what about marketing? Now is the time for hoteliers to tailor travel marketing efforts to reach the new bleisure travel customer—and capitalize on the opportunity to drive more weekday business.
The future of travel is here.
Bleisure travel has gained popularity as a result of flexible remote work environments instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel has bounced back from the pandemic, but the traditional on-site work environment is a distant memory. People are no longer tethered to traditional work spaces, and they’re making the most of it.
If a company sets the standard that employees can work from anywhere, they often take it quite literally. People can travel without taking time off and instead work remotely from their destination during the week and vacation in the evenings and on weekends—or even between meetings and emails.
Even though it was spurred by the pandemic, bleisure travel is here to stay. The traditional business travel for meetings, presentations, and conferences still happens, but flexibility in the average workday has prompted new travel opportunities. Hoteliers are advised to monitor this consumer trend in 2023 as travel enthusiasts continue to take advantage of remote work arrangements.
Target your travel marketing efforts.
Traditionally there hasn’t been much, if any, overlap in marketing for business travel and leisure travel. The mindsets were different between the business traveler and the leisure traveler. The framework was different. Marketers would encourage bookends to business travel, adding days before or after the work portion of a trip for leisure time. Messaging would encourage business travelers to invite their spouse or family to join them in their destination after their work event.
Reaching today’s bleisure travelers requires marketers to view the traveler as a complete person—a hardworking, dedicated employee and a fun-loving adventure-seeker. Bleisure travelers are multidimensional. Their travel isn’t segmented, so marketing campaigns targeted toward them can’t be either. Many hotel accommodations are designed for these multifaceted travelers, so it’s up to marketers to showcase those amenities to attract bleisure travelers.
Stand out to the bleisure traveler.
Bleisure travelers represent a new type of traveler—one that is neither a strictly business traveler nor a carefree vacationer—with a new combination of priorities and needs. They’re looking for reliable, convenient accommodations that allow them to both work and play. They need fast, uninterrupted Wi-Fi throughout the property so they can take business meetings during the day, but they also want to know where to hit the spa or golf course in the afternoon.
Attract bleisure travelers by showing images of people engaging with accommodations designed for business and those built around leisure. For example, feature the hotel common space that’s set up as a work-friendly area during the day but transforms into happy hour space at five o’clock. Help bleisure travelers picture themselves enjoying these available amenities. Remember, if an executive is reading Forbes, it’s okay if they see an ad where people are doing something leisure oriented.
Win the battle for the bleisure traveler.
Bleisure travelers represent an opportunity for hoteliers to capitalize on more weekday traffic and even off-peak traffic. These travelers are there for the picking, so why not experiment with your marketing? Schedule a call with us at Off Madison Ave if you’d like help fine-tuning your travel marketing approach to reach the bleisure traveler.