Business travel is in the midst of an evolution, what was once strictly business, and offered little flexibility with choice of hotels and airlines, is now a rapidly growing market. Business travellers are given free rein when booking and are opting to add on a few extra days to profit from their trip personally, as well as doing the job they’re there for, and employers are increasingly encouraging this change.
When thinking about your corporate packages, it’s important to understand what they’re looking for beyond free WIFI and meeting rooms, the offering must extend to suit their lifestyle outside of work too. Think about loyalty programs, offering a ‘local experience’, and a touch of luxury.
The good news for independent hotels is that they can much easily offer a unique experience and cater for business travellers seeking to ‘live like a local’, read on for this week’s top articles on the ‘Bleisure’ segment…
How to Use Content Marketing to Win Bleisure Travelers
“Bleisure travelers,” as the name suggests, are people who add a few extra days of leisure to their business trips. They take advantage of being in another city they may not have otherwise visited – while the company is covering some of the cost. These trips are also referred to as micro-vacations.
Guilty pleasures of business travel revealed
According to a survey of over 1,000 business travellers, commissioned by Best Western Great Britain, a quarter of workers enjoy getting away from the office and find business travel relaxing, providing them with an escape from everyday life.
Business travelers still going rogue with hotel bookings
While 60 percent of companies have a travel policy in place, more than half of the business travellers surveyed are still allowed to book travel using any method they choose, and a full 46 percent have done so for hotel bookings, according to the 4th edition Egencia Business Travel and Technology Survey. To rein in these rogue booking tendencies, the study suggests that relevancy, incentivisation and clear policies can pave the way.
Time to Rethink Loyalty?
A common thread when looking into what works for the Busines Travel market are loyalty programs, hotel’s need to offer the business traveler something extra to keep them coming back time and time again.
One thing is certain: direct business comes at a lower CPA that most other business, and it hinges on loyalty. Securing loyalty is the way to beat out the OTAs and other competition. The theory goes: if a customer is loyal to you, they won’t cast their eyes further afield. The practice is a little messier. There are two main reasons for this:
- Technology and the environment
- Millennials
