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More Affluent, Time-Strapped Millennials Are Choosing "Bleisure" Travel

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For some cash rich, time poor millennials, life is presenting a dilemma. Having spent their formative years in a global recession, they are (by necessity) extremely hard working and entrepreneurial. In fact, millennials have launched twice as many businesses as baby boomers. But those who have found success have realized it comes at a cost. Whether it’s 12-hour days at a rocketing start-up or a top executive position with huge responsibility, their hard work may have won them a healthy bank balance, but their free time has dwindled considerably.

With this has come the rise of “bleisure” travel - a mix of business and leisure which allows cash rich, time poor millennials to enjoy themselves even when time is against them.The global nature of business means that working travel is a necessity for many people, but this has often been a rushed, stressful experience. Spending half a day on a plane only to travel back less than a day later is not uncommon, but the idea of bleisure is changing this. By booking annual leave to extend their trip by a few days, bringing their friends along, or immersing themselves in the culture, millennials are beginning to see business trips as an opportunity, not another chore.

Catering to business travellers has always been a priority for the travel industry, and made meeting rooms with high-speed Internet connections became an industry standard years ago. However, they have often sacrificed luxury in order to prioritize functionality, with uninspiring hotel rooms and disappointing meals becoming mainstays of the business traveller’s experience. But travel providers have begun to realize that they can no longer think purely in terms of practicality when it comes to corporate travel.

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The travel industry is changing in order to facilitate the young people who expect more, and want the chance to enjoy themselves between their work commitments. Rather than thinking corporate travellers just need a bed and somewhere to hang their suit before they head home, they are creating the opportunity for fun and extravagance. Services like these luxury city apartments (which are aimed at business travellers) are indicative of this change, combining extreme indulgence with convenient central locations and professional surroundings. The practicalities are always going to be important, but luxurious touches can make a huge difference.

Luxury hotels are especially seeking to create a seamless blend of business and leisure, with impressive meeting rooms, shoe-shining services and wake-up calls sitting alongside fine dining, pools and spas. Take The Orchard Hotel in Singapore, which has a team of planners to help with a business event - but also includes one of Singapore’s top restaurants and an amazing pool. All this is tempting business travellers away from functional yet underwhelming hotel chains, and encouraging them to think about their corporate trips differently. Baby-sitting services in hotels like Bangkok’s Sukhothai are even encouraging older Millennials to bring their children with them.

According to a report by Skift, more than half of those who take a bleisure trip bring family or friends, and this blend of professional and social travel makes perfect sense for Millennials. They have grown up spending much of their working lives in an environment where technology has blurred the lines between work and social life, with work colleagues they barely know classified as “Facebook friends”, while office emails are read and responded to over dinner with loved ones. For the cash rich and time poor, bleisure travel may well give people a rare chance to catch up with people they don’t get to see as much as they’d like.

With time becoming an more restricted commodity, it makes sense that bleisure travel is something which is becoming firmly rooted in the luxury market. The professional advantages, such as being more acquainted with the host’s culture, less stressed and perhaps a little better prepared, are clear, but it’s the personal benefits that are most attractive. Bleisure travel creates opportunities in a busy world for the things we can all often neglect but actually enjoy the most, seeing friends, experiencing new things and, most importantly of all, spending a few days not thinking about work.

Nick Huxsted

Nick Huxsted is a London-based writer who often follows his wanderlust across the world, having travelled extensively and spent five years living and working in Australia. Interested in travel trends, entrepreneurship and wellbeing, Nick writes when he isn't running his own business and is particularly fascinated by the luxury travel market. ...(Read More)

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