“Bleisure” is when an employee tacks days onto a business trip and turns it into a vacation. The rise of “bleisure” – where travelers mix their business trips with leisure time – is allowing workers to save money and transform what can be an inconvenient trip away into a pleasurable stay.
Steps for Successful Bleisure Travel
If you’re interested in planning a bleisure trip, the first thing to do is talk to your boss. You might be surprised to find out that s/he is a lot more accommodating than you’d expect. Bleisure travel is hardly a niche phenomenon, and most employers have at least heard of the concept.
If you have vacation or personal time available, most bosses are happy to let you add a couple of days onto the trip to take in the local sights, or to visit signature attractions.
For those lacking the vacation time, use the weekend or a public holiday for extra travel time, either arriving early or departing later. Of course, you will be paying for any extra hotel stays, food, or other travel expenses yourself.
Another popular form of bleisure travel is bringing a significant other and/or even children with you on your trip. In a time where companies are turning an increasingly attentive eye to the critical work/family balance, there has never been a better opportunity to marry work, travel, and a family trip, especially if your employer is already footing the bill for a hotel. You can save up airline miles to save on a ticket for your spouse or kids. They can entertain themselves while you are on the clock, and you will have the comfort of being surrounded by your loved ones when you are done for the day. So pack your briefcase with work stuff, as well as some fun stuff, like a bathing suit.
Bleisure is becoming more of a lifestyle rather than a rare event for many professionals. As employees increasingly embrace this hybrid form of travel, it will become more acceptable for workers to squeeze in an all-day meeting and confidently announce that they are rounding out the day by sightseeing with their spouse.
Who cares if it’s technically “bleisure” travel or not! If you have a couple of hours, get out and see the city you are in. You’ll learn a bit about a new place, and it will feel a lot more like a vacation and less like work.
