National Car Rental 2019 State of Business Travel Survey Fact Sheet

National Car Rental recently released its second annual State of Business Travel Survey, which continues to examine the behaviors, emotions and perceptions of frequent business travelers.

This year, new data reveals more business travelers are engaging in “bleisure” travel – the trend of adding leisure activities to business trips. Bleisure travel is proving to be advantageous for frequent business travelers, especially millennials who are benefiting the most by incorporating leisure activities into and around business travel. However, the survey shows business travelers of all ages are feeling the benefits of bleisure travel compared to non-bleisure travelers, including having higher satisfaction with their quality of life (93 percent vs. 75 percent) and their work/life balance (87 percent vs. 64 percent).

Background

The National Car Rental 2019 State of Business Travel Survey was conducted November 9-15, 2018, among 1,000 U.S. frequent business travelers using Lucid’s Federated Sample market research panel of U.S. consumers. At the time of the survey, participants had to have been 25 to 65 years of age, be currently employed or self-employed on a full-time (35+ hours a week) basis, and traveled in the past 12 months for business purposes with a minimum of eight total nights.

Survey Statistics

Millennials Engage in Bleisure Travel to Save on Vacation Costs

• Millennial bleisure travelers (49 percent) say saving on vacation costs is a major reason to extend business travel into a leisure trip, compared to 34 percent of non-millennials.
• Fifty percent of millennials always or often book a vacation around a business trip, and 76 percent are significantly more inclined than older generations to travel for business if they can extend their stay.

Bleisure Travel Complements Millennial Lifestyle

More millennials engage in bleisure travel each year (90 percent) compared to 81 percent of Generation Xers and 80 percent of baby boomers. Millennials are more likely than older generations to:

• Exercise (58 percent), stay focused (66 percent) and follow a healthy diet (45 percent).
• Feel happy (36 percent), energized (21 percent) and productive (14 percent).
• Bring their spouse along (33 percent) compared to Gen Xers (22 percent) and baby boomers (17 percent).
• Share photos of their bleisure travel experiences on social media (72 percent) compared to Gen Xers (60 percent) and baby boomers (41 percent).

However, Millennial Bleisure Travelers Tend to Downplay the Fun

• Millennial bleisure travelers (45 percent) feel they should avoid telling others about taking time for fun or personal activities while on a business trip compared to Gen Xers (40 percent) and baby boomers (30 percent). 
• More specifically, millennials avoid telling their bosses (46 percent) and their families (41 percent).

When Millennial Bleisure Travelers Do Share, They Share on Social Media

• When millennials do share their leisure activities, they’re much more likely (72 percent) to share their adventures on social media than Gen Xers (60 percent) or baby boomers (41 percent).
• Regardless of their age or generation, managers (64 percent) and executive/senior leaders (67 percent) are also more likely to share their bleisure activities than non-managers (54 percent) on social media.

Parents Especially Like to Engage in Bleisure Travel

• Nearly nine in 10 parents (87 percent) have engaged in bleisure travel in the past year, compared to 82 percent of non-parents.
• More than one third of parents (35 percent) who’ve extended business travel into a leisure trip or scheduled a vacation around business travel say one of the major reasons to do so is it’s less work than planning another trip.

Destination is the Number One Factor That Determines Whether Travelers Include Leisure Activities in their Business Travel

• More than three in 10 respondents (31 percent) say “destination” determines whether their travel becomes bleisure – more so than their current workload (25 percent) and whether they can afford it (11 percent).
• “Sightseeing” is the single most popular leisure activity among bleisure travelers (75 percent), even more so than relaxing in front of the television (65 percent) or calling/texting/video chatting with family (62 percent).

Business Travelers Choose Brands Whose Technology Makes Travel Easier

Business travelers are more connected than ever, with 93 percent of frequent travelers preferring travel brands with technology that makes the travel experience better or easier:

• Millennials (46 percent) are significantly more likely than Gen Xers (37 percent) and baby boomers (35 percent) to say they always choose travel brands for their technology.
• Managers (40 percent) and executive/senior leaders (49 percent) are significantly more likely than non-managers (29 percent) to always choose travel brands for their technology.
• Business travelers use an average of 3.1 travel apps when they travel for business, with men using more than women (3.2 vs. 2.9).
• Millennials are significantly more likely than older generations to bring along portable power banks, smartwatches, portable keyboards and portable speakers, with managers and senior leaders bringing more devices than non-managers.

Benefits of Bleisure – Beyond Getting Out of the Office

• Bleisure travelers report significantly higher levels of satisfaction with their quality of life compared to non-bleisure travelers (93 percent vs. 75 percent) as well as their work/life balance (87 percent vs. 64 percent).
• Bleisure travelers are more likely than those who’ve not incorporated leisure into their trips in the past year to say they follow a healthy diet (42 percent vs. 29 percent) and exercise (57 percent vs. 31 percent) when traveling for business.

A majority of bleisure travelers (62 percent) also report they feel more focused while on business trips.

When it Comes to Bleisure, Bosses Lead by Example

More bleisure travelers believe their bosses are mixing leisure activities with their business trips, too. In addition, a large percentage of bleisure-traveling bosses and supervisors report that they encourage their employees to participate in bleisure travel:

• Bleisure travelers (78 percent) report their bosses take time for fun or personal activities while on a business trip, compared to only 50 percent reported by non-bleisure travelers.
• Seventy-six percent of bleisure-traveling bosses and supervisors report encouraging their team/employees to take time for themselves while on business trips, compared to only 51 percent of bosses and supervisors who don’t participate in bleisure travel.
• Seventy-seven percent of bleisure travelers say their boss encourages them to take time for themselves while on a business trip compared to 32 percent of non-bleisure travelers.
• However, 46 percent of bleisure travelers think telling their bosses about taking time for fun or personal activities while traveling is a “no-go.”

Bleisure Up, Work Hours Down

• Eighty-five percent of frequent business travelers feel pressure to keep up with their regular job responsibilities in addition to the objectives of their business trip.
• However, business travelers’ work/life balance leans towards a healthier balance compared to the 2018 report, with frequent business travelers working 9.3 hours a day instead of 10.2 hours.
• Business travelers also report they were awake and not working for almost an hour more a day compared to the 2018 report (7.7 hours vs. 6.8 hours).
• Additionally, bleisure travelers specifically report working fewer hours in a day compared to non-bleisure travelers, clocking in at 9.1 working hours a day compared to 10.1 hours.

Despite Difficulties, Road Warriors Prioritize Taking Time for Themselves

• While 53 percent of business travelers say it’s hard to take time for themselves, 59 percent say that they still do it.