Just in time for business conference season, Hotwire.com has announced its goal to redefine what has been formerly known as “bleisure travel,” and introduce consumers to “workventure.” Data from a recent consumer survey* shows that the 10 percent of American business travelers who take opportunities to make the most out of each trip are more savvy, adventurous, and spontaneous than those who don’t. Forty-one percent of these travelers say they like new and exciting experiences, even if they have to bend the rules (compared to 28 percent of overall population.) Clearly they’re having more fun than the average Joe.
“We know that people who get out and explore and take full advantage of work travel are more fun. So, of course we want to encourage anyone who goes on business trips to shift their mindset, and to be more adventurous,” said Hotwire President Henrik Kjellberg. “Business and personal travel don’t have to be so segmented. Sometimes it’s just about getting up early to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge before morning meetings, or relaxing at the end of a full day at a conference by checking out a hip new restaurant in a neighborhood you’ve never been to.”
- When it comes to life, those on a “workventure” know how to live it up. They are significantly more likely to have:
- Planned a spontaneous weekend trip in the past year (45% compared to 27% of Americans)
- Traveled with friends or family (75% to 55%)
- Taken a road trip (67% to 47%)
- Splurged on a fancy meal in the last year (71% to 47%)
- They also eat better:
- “Workventurers” prefer craft beer over domestic beer by 16 points (32% compared to 16% of Americans.)
- 50% of “workventurers” describe their diet as very or somewhat healthy, compared to 42% of other Americans.
There’s more to being workventurous than just fun. A 2010 study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, shows that the less employees decompress psychologically during off-hours, the higher their emotional exhaustion in 12 months’ time, and the majority of American business leaders believe travel experience directly translates to a competitive advantage in the workplace. With tangible benefits like increased adaptability, communication skills, planning, cultural awareness and time management, the increased skills that travel offers proves to be a win-win for employees and employers alike.
“The concept of work/leisure balance has always been confusing to me,” Kjellberg said. “There doesn’t need to be a distinction between the two, because work is a part of life. When you love what you do, and you take time to make the most out of every experience, the result is a healthier, happier, more inspired person. And that translates into every facet of life.”
Insights on the savvy “workventurer”
- More informed: They’re better at technology and more interested in being informed – they’re more likely to search for product info online, use online banking and other time saving online techniques, and they’re more likely to be self-described tech gurus.
- Better at finding travel deals: 77% of “workventurers” use sites like Hotwire® to book their travel, 25 points higher than Americans overall!
- With the Hotwire mobile app, 41 percent of transactions are “in-destination,” meaning people are booking after they arrive, with 34 percent of our in-destination transactions occurring on the same day. Sounds perfect for the “workventurer”!
*The SpringStyles survey is an online, nationally representative survey fielded in Spring, 2016 to 6,490 U.S. Adults. The survey provides over 2,000 variables for analysis from attitudes, lifestyle values, purchasing behaviors, technology use, traditional and social media habits and information channels. The Margin of Error is +/- 1.3 percentage points.
