Keeping Travel Policies in Check: Managing the Rise of Bleisure Travel

By The Center Team on October 10, 2024

Mixing business and leisure ‌ travel — also known as “bleisure” —  ‌has become increasingly popular in the past several years. But while bleisure travel is great for employee morale and work-life balance, it can pose challenges for companies and complicate life for travel managers who want to keep policies clear and compliant. 

So how can travel managers keep things running smoothly while giving employees the flexibility to combine work and play? Let’s dive into how to create a travel policy that works for everyone.

Why You Need a Bleisure Travel Policy

Around 89% of U.S. employees say they’d like to add leisure time to their business trips — and doing so can benefit both employees and employers. However, without clear policies in place, it can be difficult to distinguish between business and personal expenses. This can create confusion and potential problems for employees and companies.

A solid bleisure travel policy helps you:

  • Clearly differentiate between business and personal expenses
  • Control travel costs by setting guidelines around personal travel extensions
  • Keep things simple for employees, making sure they know the rules and avoid surprises
  • Meet the expectations of the emerging workforce, improving your employer value proposition
  • Realize ROI through improved employee satisfaction, increased productivity, and reduced turnover.

“Bleisure is the direction corporate travel is headed – it is an undeniable part of work-life balance. Companies who embrace it are viewed as ‘keeping up with the times’.”  – Michelle Amos, Associate Director of Travel, Qualtrics 

Building a Bleisure Travel Policy That Works

Here are the key pieces you’ll need to build a bleisure travel policy that keeps everyone on track:

  1. Clear Expense Rules: The trickiest part of bleisure travel is figuring out who pays for what. Be crystal clear about which expenses the company covers (think: flights, accommodations during business days, meals, etc) and what’s on the employee (extra nights at the hotel, personal activities, and dining out with family). Encourage employees to submit separate reports for business and personal expenses to avoid confusion.
  2. Get Approval Ahead of Time: Make sure employees get approval before they tack on extra days to their business trips. A simple pre-approval process lets travel managers make sure everything lines up with company goals before anyone hits the “book” button.
  3. Duty of Care: What’s Covered, What’s Not: Your duty of care only extends to the business part of the trip, so it’s important to outline what’s covered during the leisure portion. Be clear about insurance coverage and safety protocols so employees know what’s on them once the business portion of their trip wraps up.
  4. Destination Matters: Not all locations are ideal for bleisure travel. Your policy should have clear guidelines on which destinations are suitable for mixing work and leisure. For higher-risk destinations, make sure employees know the company’s stance and the safety measures they should follow.
  5. Use Corporate Cards: Simplify the expense process with corporate cards. Employees can keep business and personal spending separate, and companies can track expenses in real time. Corporate cards make it easy to monitor spending and ensure everything stays in line with company policies.

Tips for Ensuring Policy Compliance

Having a great policy is step one, but how do you make sure it’s followed? Here are a few tips to ensure compliance:

  • Educate Employees: Hold training sessions or send out easy-to-digest guides that explain your company’s bleisure travel policy. The better informed employees are, the fewer issues you’ll encounter.
  • Use Tech to Your Advantage: Modern, integrated travel and expense management platforms are a game-changer. These tools help streamline bookings, track expenses, and ensure employees adhere to policies. For example, Insights for Travel offers real-time tracking and analytics. This makes it easy to separate business from personal costs and provides valuable data to optimize travel programs. 
  • Keep It Fresh: The travel world changes fast, and so should your policies. Regularly review your bleisure travel rules to make sure they reflect new trends, employee feedback, and any shifts in business travel regulations.

Bleisure Travel is the Ticket to Company Success

Bleisure travel is here to stay — and companies that respond proactively to the trend will have healthy, happier and more loyal employees.  and having a solid policy in place will help you reap the benefits without the headaches. By setting clear rules around expenses, pre-approval, and the use of corporate cards, you can ensure that both your company and its employees benefit from this growing trend.

With the right balance of flexibility and oversight, you’ll keep employees happy, avoid compliance headaches, and maintain control over travel costs.