Thee rise of bleisure trips is far from the only recent business travel development that hoteliers and experience providers need to be aware of.

1. Business
Travel Trends:
What Hotels
Need to Know

2. Business travel does not have to be a pain. For many
young professionals, the opportunity to travel for
work is an incentive, especially for companies that
encourage extending business trips with vacation
days.
However, the rise of bleisure trips is far from the only
recent business travel development that hoteliers
and experience providers need to be aware of.
Here are some of the most notable
influences on the business travel
sector...

3. Millennials are not just enjoying business travel more than
other generations, they are also taking more trips.
The American business traveler, defined by MMGY as
someone who took at least one trip in the last year and plans
on taking at least one next year, takes an average of 6.8 trips
per year while millennials reportedly average 7.4 trips.
Millennials
Embracing
Work Trips

4. This is partly because as one of the younger
generations in the American workforce,
millennials are less likely to have family
commitments at this juncture.
Business travel gives employees at this stage
of their lives an opportunity to have new
experiences and make new connections,
things that can help them on both a
professional and personal level.
Millennials, more than other generations, value
workspace flexibility, and 69% prioritize it
ahead of other workplace benefits.

5. Traveling for Work &
Working While Traveling
While the concept of remote work is often
constrained to just working from home, the
concept can also be applied to working
abroad.
The benefits of remote work are well
documented, as this lifestyle can lead to
happier and healthier employees.
Businesses that are responsive to this are
even agreeing to let employees take
extended trips, as long as they are still
working.
Workers who are tired of their normal
routine are opting for this unconventional
approach to their regular job.

6. This makes it easier for employees to take
longer trips to remote destinations and creates
an opportunity for hotels in these markets to
create spaces that are conducive to working.
Hotels have had business centers for many
years, but advancements in personal technology
have made the traditional version of this
amenity obsolete.
Some hotels have renovated their business
centers to resemble the common study areas of
modern universities, complete with comfortable
seating, desktop computers, and tablets.

7. There has been a rise in independence among business
travelers, with the majority of travelers booking
transportation and accommodations themselves instead of
doing so through the company.
With most business trips being less than 250 miles away
from home, cars are the most popular mode of
transportation for American business travelers.
With travelers taking their own cars on business trips, their
options for excursions within the area are greatly expanded.
Traveling On Their
Own Terms

8. This not only creates more opportunities to
tack on a leisure trip at the end of the
business portion but also gives travelers a
chance to explore the surrounding area of
the destination.
The sharing economy has created more
options for business travelers to arrange
their own trips.
Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft have
made renting a car unnecessary in many
situations and alternative lodging services
like Airbnb have given travelers more
options to find accommodations that fit
specific needs and wants.

9. Wellness and
Microstays
The bleisure trend has led hotels to court
business travelers into extending their
stays, however, there is also an interesting
opportunity for marketing short stays.
A microstay is generally understood as a
stay that lasts less than 24 hours,
something that is most common at airport
hotels.
Getting a good night’s sleep at an airport
hotel during a layover can make a huge
difference in a traveler’s experience, but
some hotels are looking at even shorter
microstays, where travelers do not even
stay the night.

10. Doing this involves letting guests use lounges,
athletic facilities, and spas without even booking a
room. Services like Sanctifly let members do just this,
and Roam Fitness is going a step further by even
installing gyms and showers right in airports.
This business opportunity came about as a direct
result of more people paying attention to health and
wellness while traveling.
Concerns about burnout from the hectic schedules
and travel delays that often come with business trips
have led many workers to attempt to take a healthier
and more balanced approach to their travel.
While bleisure trips have become
popular in part because of a desire
for work-life balance, microstays
show that this appetite has also
influenced travel that is strictly
business.

11. Thanks For Reading!
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12. Resources
MMGY Global
TravelPerk
International
Workplace Group
Lonely Planet
US Bureau of
Transportation
Statistics
Sanctifly
Roam Fitness
Hospitality Net