Explore the rising trend of "bleisure" travel—where business meets leisure. Discover how Indian hotels can tap into this growing market to boost bookings and attract a new wave of travelers.
“Are you traveling for business or leisure?” Since time immemorial, this has been the question faced by weary travelers all around the world.
Until recently, it was fairly easy to answer — you were either traveling for fun or for work. But today, the lines have become blurred. “Bleisure” travel — a blend of business and leisure — is more popular than ever.
For Indian hotels, this is big news. Bleisure travelers represent a whole new segment of the market, with exciting opportunities. In this article, we’ll look at what bleisure travel is, why it’s important, and how you can capitalize on this trend to get more customers and bookings
What iS Bleisure Travel?
Bleisure travel is what happens when people traveling for work decide to extend their trips and include some tourist activities too.
It’s happening more than ever — in 2022 the global bleisure market was worth $315.3 billion, and it’s expected to more than double by 2032, reaching $731.4 billion.
What Does Bleisure Travel Mean for Hotels?
Bleisure travel is a lucrative opportunity for smart hotels. Research from Marriott International found that business travelers are staying 20% longer than they did in the past — which could be a goldmine for the right hotels.
If hotels can find a way to cater to both business and leisure needs, they’ll be able to tap into this new and growing market. If you can tell bleisure travelers that you can cater to their business and vacation needs, giving them the best of both worlds in one package, you stand to gain a serious headstart in this emerging market.
But how can hotels do that?
How Can Hotels Capitalize On Bleisure Travel?
Tapping into the bleisure travel trend is all about making small adjustments. If you already cater to both business and leisure travelers, you have everything you need in place already. And even if you only cater to one of these groups, it might only require a handful of changes.
Here are some ways hotels can reel in more bleisure customers and give them unforgettable experiences:
- Make sure your facilities cater to both. Your hotel rooms should be suitable for both business and leisure, and you should have perks and additional services to suit both travel styles — for example, meeting rooms and working areas for business and tourism activities for vacationers.
- Use loyalty programs. Business travelers often stay at hotels frequently, making them the perfect candidates for loyalty programs. If you can work leisure perks into these programs, you’ll do a great job convincing your business guests to continue their stay with you.
- Use the right tools. Technology can be a powerful weapon when it comes to giving bleisure travelers better experiences and getting more bookings. Tools like a booking engine, channel manager, and central reservation system can all play a key role. Let’s explore that in more detail.
Using Your Booking Engine to Connect with Bleisure Travelers
When it comes to getting more bookings from bleisure travelers, your booking engine is one of the most powerful tools you have.
It allows you to carefully adapt your listings to specifically target bleisure travelers and advertise your rooms based on their specific needs and desires. You’ll also be able to include discounts and perks aimed at bleisure guests and build loyalty programs and rewards schemes especially for them.
At Hotel-Spider, we’re launching a range of new packages for our booking engine to help our users boost their revenue, improve their operations, and give their guests a more enjoyable and smooth booking experience. Here’s how:
- Scalable infrastructure so you can easily expand your offerings and connect with entirely new groups of customers as the Indian and global tourism markets continue to grow
- More efficient operations — saving you time and resources so your staff can focus on what they do best: delivering unforgettable guest experiences
- A better customer experience for your guests thanks to clearer, more consistent information on the hotel website and less confusion
- More and better options when it comes to marketing your packages. Create promotions, special offers, and bundle deals that cater specifically to Indian travelers or bleisure guests.
To learn more about Hotel-Spider’s booking engine and all our tech solutions, schedule a demo with us.
