Latest bleisure travel trends shaping corporate travel in 2025
Insight for teams who manage budgets, travellers and policies
A work trip isn’t always a quick flight, a meeting and straight back home anymore. More employees are adding a weekend in Lisbon after a client visit, inviting family to join them in Paris, or working remotely from the hotel for an extra day before flying back. This blend of business and leisure — bleisure travel — has gone from occasional requests to a recognised part of corporate travel.
And the numbers back it up. The global bleisure market was valued at $430 billion, and Statista predicts it could grow by 500% by 2033. In the UK alone, 42% of travellers extended a business trip for leisure in the past year. Travel managers are seeing more extended stays, finance teams are fielding questions about expense limits, and HR is having to think beyond flights and hotels to traveller wellbeing and fatigue.
Employees aren’t asking for luxury holidays on company time. They’re trying to make better use of time already spent travelling — especially when the average business traveller is away from home 22 days a year. For employers, this shift raises questions: Who covers the extra hotel night? Are they still covered under company insurance? What happens if something goes wrong during the leisure part of the trip?
The smart companies aren’t ignoring it. They’re building travel plans and policies that allow flexibility, protect budgets and make expectations clear for everyone involved.
In this blog, we’ll explore the biggest bleisure travel trends right now, how they’re reshaping corporate travel, and how you can plan for them before the New Year rings in.
What is travel and expense data analytics?
Bleisure travel is simple on paper: an employee takes a business trip and adds leisure time before, during or after it. But in practice, it comes in different forms, and the way you plan for it affects budgets and traveller satisfaction.
Some common examples you’re likely already seeing in your organisation:
- An employee attends a conference in Berlin and stays two extra nights to explore the city (paid personally, but within the same hotel booking).
- A project team finishes work in Madrid on a Friday and works remotely from the hotel on Monday before flying home.
- A senior manager flies to Toronto for meetings and brings their partner along, paying for additional flight and meals themselves.
- A contractor works on-site abroad for weeks at a time and uses weekends to visit nearby cities instead of flying home.
It’s not a new idea — but the frequency and acceptance have changed. In a recent U.S. survey, 84% of employees said they want to include personal time on their next work trip, and nearly half (48%) already did so in the last year. Travel managers are noticing it too, with 41% reporting an increase in employees asking to extend their stays for leisure.
So why does it matter for corporate travel policy?
Because once a work trip shifts into personal time, several things change:
- Budgets — who pays for what?
- Insurance and duty of care — is the traveller still covered?
- Tax and compliance — could it be considered a taxable benefit?
- Approvals and tracking — how do you record the shift from business to leisure?
This is where many policies fall short. They allow bleisure informally, but don’t outline the guardrails. And when that happens, finance is unsure what to reimburse, HR worries about liability and travel managers are left making one-off decisions.
Understanding what counts as bleisure (and where business ends) is the first step in building travel plans that support employees without creating confusion or risk.
Why bleisure travel is on the rise
Bleisure travel isn’t a phase that will fade out. It’s a response to how work, wellbeing and business travel have changed — and the rise is visible across industries, continents and age groups. The data makes it hard to ignore.
Over the past year, several things have accelerated its rise.
1. Travellers want more value from time spent away from home
Business trips can be tiring. There’s long flights, unfamiliar cities, and time away from family. So it’s no surprise that travellers are turning work trips into something more worthwhile. In one survey, 84% of U.S. travellers said they want to add personal time to their next work trip, and 48% already have in the past year. In the UK, 42% of business travellers extended their stay for leisure in 2023.
2. Companies are travelling more — but want happier, more productive travellers
Corporate travel is back and growing fast. 62% of CEOs increased their travel budgets in 2024, and business travellers now spend an average of 22 days a year on the road. Longer trips, rising workloads and focus on retention make traveller wellbeing a bigger priority — and bleisure offers a low-cost way to support it.
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3. It can actually save money
An extra Saturday stay can make flights cheaper due to airline pricing rules. In many cases, a traveller extends a trip, pays for their own accommodation, and still costs the company less on flights. For finance teams, this isn’t just a perk — it can be a budget benefit when managed correctly.
4. Remote work has changed everything
Work is no longer tied to the office. Employees can answer emails from a hotel lobby or join meetings from another country. That flexibility blurs the lines between work and leisure — naturally leading to longer stays and more blended trips.
5. The market is growing faster than expected
The global bleisure travel market was worth $430 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow by 500% by 2033. Hotels are offering “work + stay” packages. Airlines are adjusting fare rules. Travel platforms are building features to support extended stays and personal add-ons.
In short? Bleisure isn’t a travel perk for a handful of employees, it’s becoming a standard expectation. Ignoring it means higher risk, unclear spending and case-by-case decision-making. Planning for it means happier travellers, measurable costs and fewer headaches for HR and finance.
Why employees are choosing bleisure and why companies are starting to support it
Employees aren’t asking for holidays disguised as business trips. What they want is balance, and to make better use of time they’re already spending on the road.
For many, it’s practical. If you’ve already flown 10 hours for a client meeting in Singapore, staying an extra day to explore the city feels like a smarter use of time than flying back exhausted. And when work trips take people away from home on average 22 days a year, it’s no surprise more employees are asking, “Can I add a weekend to this trip?”
But the shift isn’t only coming from employees. Employers are starting to see the benefits too — reduced burnout, better staff retention and even better outcomes from client meetings because people arrive rested, not drained.
Here’s why bleisure is gaining traction on both sides.
What employees say
- Work-life balance matters – Younger workers, especially Gen Z and Millennials, value flexible travel policies that give them room to breathe.
- Travel is tiring — not glamorous – Long flights, airports and back-to-back meetings take a toll. A day to decompress gives them headspace before jumping back into office life.
- They’re already away from home – Extending a trip is cheaper and more practical than booking a separate holiday later.
What employers are realising
- Happy travellers make better decisions – Teams that feel supported on work trips are more engaged and productive when meeting clients or attending events.
- It helps with retention and recruitment – In competitive industries, flexible travel policies signal trust and respect — something people look for when choosing where to work.
- Budgets don’t always have to suffer – If travellers cover their own leisure days and stick within policy, there’s little added cost — but a big gain in morale.
Current bleisure travel statistics you need to know
Getting solid data helps you plan ahead rather than reacting. Here are key stats that underscore how much bleisure travel trends have evolved, and why they matter for your travel policy.
Statistic | What it shows |
The global bleisure market size is estimated at USD $816.24 billion in 2025, up from USD $430 billion in 2024, with a CAGR of ~17.4% from 2025 to 2034. | Company travel budgets must recognise this growth as business + leisure align more. |
54% of business travellers took at least two trips combining business and leisure in 2024. | The blended trip model is becoming common, not rare. |
67% of bleisure trips began with a conference or meeting in the itinerary. | Travel managers booking for events need to plan the “after-meetings” too |
17% of bleisure trips lasted 4 nights or more, 31% were 3 nights, 39% were 2 nights, and just 12% were 1 night. | Most extensions are significant — an extra night or two, not just a flight change. |
74% of employees said they’d invite a friend or family member on a work trip; nearly 20% already have without telling their employer. | Companies need clear rules around companions and extensions. |
What these numbers mean for your travel programme
- Long stays are more common than last-minute add-ons. With roughly one in six bleisure trips of 4 nights or more, policies should anticipate extra nights rather than occasional extras.
- Conference/hub-city trips are hot spots. With two-thirds starting from an event or meeting, travel managers should bundle in leisure eligibility at those moments.
- Companion travel isn’t fringe anymore. If nearly three-quarters are open to bringing someone, you’ll need companion rules, expense clarity and travel-insurance alignment.
- The market growth is rapid. When the industry is expecting near doubling in value, organisations that don’t update their travel frameworks risk being reactive instead of strategic.
- Splitting business vs personal spend is non-negotiable. These statistics underline why finance must have visibility on where the business travel ends and personal time begins.
When you have this level of insight, you can stop fielding ad-hoc bleisure requests and instead design a travel policy that manages cost, supports employees and protects your duty of care.
How bleisure affects budgets, policies and duty of care (and where Roomex fits in)
Bleisure sounds simple — work first, leisure after. But for the teams managing travel, it comes with a set of practical questions:
- Who pays for the extra hotel nights?
- Are employees still insured when the business part of the trip ends?
- How do you track spend when half the journey is business and the other half personal?
- And how do you support employee wellbeing without losing visibility or control?
This is where travel policies need adjusting, not rewriting — accounting for bleisure while protecting budgets and reducing risk.
Budget and approvals: who pays for what?
Challenge | Why it’s an issue | Smart fix |
Employees add extra nights but expense them accidentally | Causes friction with finance and delayed approvals | Make it clear: business covers flights and core work days; extras (hotels, meals, transport) become personal costs |
Payment methods get blurred — company cards used out of habit | Hard to separate business vs personal expenses in reconciliation | Use tools like RoomexPay to pre-set spending limits and automatically separate business-only transactions |
Last-minute extensions mean higher prices | Out-of-policy bookings push up cost unnecessarily | Encourage early requests through a managed business travel platform like Roomex — where rates and approvals are already in place |
Duty of care and insurance — where does company responsibility end?
Many HR and travel managers worry about liability. If someone gets injured while hiking on their “bleisure day,” is the company responsible?
What works well:
- Make it clear when business cover ends (after the final client meeting, or official check-out).
- Extend corporate insurance if the company agrees to the extra stay — put this in writing.
- Use live location tools, like Roomex’s Duty of Care map, to track where employees are during the business portion of the trip.
Policy and data — without overcomplicating it
What’s changing | What it means for travel teams |
Employees are asking to extend trips more often | Policy needs written guidance on extensions, expenses and booking deadlines |
Family or partners joining trips | Clear rules: employees cover extra costs, and companions are not included in corporate insurance |
Finance needs visibility on total travel cost | Platforms like RoomexAnalytics help show how many trips include extended stays, how much spend is still business-related and areas where budgets are slipping |
How Roomex helps your business
Roomex wasn’t built for luxury bleisure travel, it was built for real-world business travel where budgets matter, employees are on the move and clarity keeps everyone sane.
With Roomex you can:
- Set clear hotel rules – business nights approved, leisure nights self-paid via split billing.
- Track employees during the work portion of their trip using live location mapping.
- Automate receipts and reporting so finance teams can spot who extended a trip and see exactly where costs end and personal travel begins.
- Give employees flexibility without losing oversight, since all bookings and payments run through one platform.
Bleisure is now part of modern business travel
Bleisure travel isn’t sitting on the fringe of corporate travel anymore. It’s become part of how employees move, work and make the most of time spent away from home. Travellers want flexibility, finance teams want clarity and HR needs policies that protect both wellbeing and budgets.
The companies getting this right aren’t handing out free holidays however, they’re putting structure around flexibility. They define what counts as business, where leisure begins, who pays for what and how duty of care applies. Most importantly, they use data to track what’s really happening on the road and adapt policies accordingly.
This is where Roomex helps. With all hotel bookings, payments and traveller tracking in one place, you get complete visibility. Employees can extend trips with their own payment details, finance can separate costs automatically and travel managers stay in control without endless email chains or manual approvals.
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Book a Roomex demo and see how you can manage bookings, costs and traveller safety — all in one platform.