Every year at the beginning of March, real estate businessmen, architects and representatives of municipalities from all over the world come to Cannes, France for the real estate fair Mipim. Local hotels and resorts are bursting at the seams as a result, but they are not empty even just after the four-day event ends. Many of the participants extend their stay in the seaside resort with golf or yacht trips, and often their partners also arrive to join them.
The bleisure trend is not completely new, and the term itself has existed since 2009. However, the pandemic has significantly accelerated its spread. “The company sends an employee on a business trip and he extends his stay by a few days so that he can travel locally. In the digital age and after the experience of the pandemic, when it became clear that part of the office work can be carried out remotely, this represents less and less of a problem for companies,” explains the Trend Report 2022 study of the Association for the Development of the Real Estate Market.
The famous Swiss hotelier César Ritz
Millennials like bleisure
According to a study by the American travel company Expedia, two-thirds of travelers will spend more money on leisure activities if they do not have to cover all the costs of transportation and accommodation themselves, i.e. if the working part of their stay is covered by their employer. Expedia reports that up to four out of ten business stays are extended by taking a follow-up vacation.
“This applies not only to managers, but also to people in various positions. We observe that millennials use bleisure more than their older colleagues,” explains analyst Jeanne Liu from the Global Business Travel Association.
Extending a business trip with a private stay is already common in domestic companies as well. “Upon mutual agreement, the employer pays for the trip, and the employee pays for the stay beyond the scope of the work trip, which is of course financially more advantageous for him,” confirms Martina Papoušková, manager of the Hays staffing agency.
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Combining work with vacation and establishing a balance between duties and free time is also sought by more and more travelers heading to Prague. “We perceive the bleisure trend especially among foreign guests, both in connection with business trips and with participation in conferences held here. For example, if the event officially starts on Monday, part of the participants will usually arrive at the weekend to enjoy a few days off in one of the most beautiful European cities,” says Štěpán Malý, head of marketing at the Prague Marriott Hotel.
Hotels are expanding their offer
Hotels welcome this hybrid model, as it brings them additional profits, either from the extended stay of guests or from the arrival of their family members. Of course, this means not only making the offer of additional activities more attractive, such as wellness or trips around the area, but also equipping the hotel with a high-quality Wi-Fi connection.
The so-called hotel office is related to bleisure. “This is a concept where entrepreneurs or employees travel to a hotel in a desired location, where part of the day they work and part of the day they travel. This way of working makes it possible to get to know new destinations, which leads to reduced stress, greater work commitment and higher productivity,” says the Trend Report.
On the other hand, analyst Jeanne Liu points out that such a path can be counterproductive for some workaholic managers. They can spend more time working, even at the expense of the declared vacation.
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