Do you know that? You tell a friend, relative or colleague about your next business trip and the answer is the following: “Oh how nice, I envy you! ”.
It is true that although you go on a business trip to a beautiful destination (e.g. London, Munich, Paris or even Grainau), there is absolutely no time during the business trip to even take anything from the destination with you. Rather, it is pure stress.

The normal madness of a business trip

Let's be honest, we usually experience a business trip like this: Arriving at an inconvenient time, meetings from early to late, reading and processing emails in between so that the inbox doesn't immediately overflow at the end of the trip back to the office, listen to the mailbox, answer urgent calls and a report has to be prepared at the end. Then dinner with a colleague or business partner and go to bed at some point late at night. It's certainly not worth packing fitness clothes for using the beautiful spa in the hotel.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could spend a few more days on your business trip to enjoy the “here and now”?

Business trip with extras

Anyone who extends their business trip for a private vacation day is one of the growing leisure travelers, those who combine business with leisure. The world of work is changing more and so is the attitude towards leisure and work. In 2016, CWT Solutions Group evaluated around 7.3 million business trips from 2015 and found that every fifth traveller therefore combines business travel with leisure at least once a year. Most leisure travelers prefer to take a few days off at the end of the business trip, while a smaller proportion uses the leisure component at the beginning of the trip.

Bleisure on the rise

Studies show that this trend will become even more important in the future. The Travel Weekly's 2016 Consumer Trends Report or the Trekksoft Trend Report 2017 show that the bleaching trend is constantly growing. Booking.com also shows that 49% of all business travelers are already extending their business trip. According to the Bleisure Report 2014 by service provider Bridge Street Global Hospitality, 83% of travelers use their free time to discover the city on their business trip. The study also shows that 96.6% of business travelers believe they “gain intercultural experience and knowledge” if they extend their trip and 73% think they can benefit from it as employees. A balanced life-work balance plays an important role, particularly among millennials.

Bleisure Travel Policy makes it easy

It is important for employers as well as employees to establish clear and easy-to-understand travel guidelines. The topic of bleaching should be enshrined in the guidelines, so it is quickly apparent to both managers and employees what is permitted and what is not. Which expenses may be officially billed as travel expenses, which cannot be billed as travel expenses in the case of a private extension? If you want to add vacation days or the weekend to a business trip, then you should communicate openly with your employer. Many companies have already recognized this trend positively for their companies and integrated it into their work-life balance policy.

Win-win situation for companies and hotels

What are the positive effects for entrepreneurs in particular? According to a study by American Express Business Travel, companies benefit as follows:

1. Avoiding travel burnouts
2. Satisfied and therefore more productive employees
3. Savings on flight tickets: It is often shown that flight prices in business cities are cheaper on weekends than during the week

Of course, the growing trend of leisure travel also has positive effects for us as hoteliers. As conference hotels, we benefit from very high occupancy rates during the week, however, the weekend could be more busy. The wonderful location of the hotel and the diverse range of offers in the region would be ideal for a private extension alone or with a partner. When doing outdoor activities in nature, you easily reduce stress and are refreshed and refreshed after just a short period of time. Weekend guests also benefit from low rates.

ARE THEY ALREADY EXCITED?

Contact our MICE department for further questions and ideas for event planning in our hotel. We are happy to assist you.

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