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More Than Just A Stay: Redefining Business Trips

More Than Just A Stay: Redefining Business Trips

By Dominique Van Wezop, General Manager at Radisson Hotel and Convention Centre O.R Tambo Airport 

Corporate travel has made a significant comeback, with global spending expected to reach R27.3 trillion by the end of 2024, and projected to surpass R36.9 trillion by 2028 according to the Global Business Travel Association. In South Africa, it’s reemerging with a refreshed approach that reflects the changing priorities of today’s professionals. No longer confined to rigid itineraries and conventional meeting rooms, business travel in 2024 is embracing the “bleisure” trend — a seamless blend of business and leisure. This evolution caters to the growing demand for experiences that are both productive and personally fulfilling, revolutionising how we view work-related travel. 

A big proponent of this transformation has been the shift to remote work, flexible schedules, and digital nomadism. The significant reshaping of the nature of work has also, unsurprisingly, changed the way we travel for business. Bridging professional commitments with leisure experiences, bleisure travel enables travellers to maximise the value of their trips. Whether it’s adding a few days to explore Cape Town’s vibrant culture after a conference or conducting meetings in a hotel that offers coworking spaces and spa facilities, the opportunities to integrate work and play have never been more appealing. 

For professionals, this trend is not just about convenience. Combining work and leisure reduces stress, enhances creativity, and fosters a healthier work-life balance. Organisations are increasingly recognising these benefits, viewing bleisure as a tool to promote employee well-being and job satisfaction, which, in turn, boosts productivity. 

Redefining meeting spaces and flexibility 

The rise of bleisure travel has driven a significant transformation in how hotels approach work-focused amenities. Traditional, formal boardrooms are being replaced with dynamic, collaborative meeting spaces that inspire creativity and foster engagement. From Cape Town to Johannesburg, hotels are integrating natural light, ergonomic seating, and relaxed breakout lounges to create environments conducive to productive discussions and innovative thinking. 

These reimagined spaces cater to the preferences of modern professionals, blending functionality with aesthetics to enhance the overall work experience. Additionally, hotels are addressing the unpredictable schedules of bleisure travellers by offering flexible check-in and check-out options. This approach allows guests to customise their stays to fit their travel needs, providing the freedom to maximise leisure time or sync accommodations with flight schedules, eliminating the stress of rigid timelines. 

Blending luxury with comfort and culture

Hotels are going beyond traditional offerings to cater to the dual desires for productivity and leisure among bleisure travellers. High-speed Wi-Fi, state-of-the-art business centres, and coworking spaces are complemented by luxury amenities such as rooftop pools, wellness programs, and curated cultural experiences. For example, Stellenbosch hotels offer immersive vineyard tours to help professionals unwind, while still providing coworking hubs that enable remote work. 

Simultaneously, boutique apartments and extended-stay accommodations are gaining traction, offering home-like comforts such as kitchens, laundry facilities, and spacious living areas. These accommodations allow travellers to settle into their destination, enjoy authentic cultural immersion, and maintain work commitments seamlessly. This blend of luxury, comfort, and connectivity positions hotels as key players in the evolving bleisure landscape, meeting the needs of today’s discerning professionals who value both productivity and enriching experiences. 

The future of bleisure travel 

As flexible working arrangements become the norm, the bleisure trend is set to grow exponentially. Companies will continue to invest in travel options that support employee well-being while delivering value to the business. Destinations and hospitality providers must innovate to stay ahead, creating tailored solutions that align with modern traveller expectations. 

In South Africa, the return of corporate travel signals a pivotal moment for the tourism and hospitality industry. By embracing the bleisure trend and reimagining the business travel experience, the sector has the potential to redefine what it means to work, relax, and explore in today’s interconnected world.

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If you enjoyed this website then check out our other sites: Wedding and FunctionKids ConnectionThirsty TravelerBoat Trips for Africa, Bargain BuysBusiness Link. 

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About us

Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.  We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa.  Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation?  Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose. 

Expensive is not always better.  Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday.  They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice.  A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday. 

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance.  Of these, service is the most important. 

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion.  However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review.  We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience?  The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table. 

Well that’s our theory anyway.  It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced.  However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience.  In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe.  It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!

 

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