As work-from-home becomes more common and hoteliers shift towards a new, digital era of hospitality, one thing is certain: the post-pandemic travel market will largely involve bleisure travelers.

The shift towards bleisure travel is nothing new: with millennials increasingly dominating the workforce, bleisure travel has been a growing trend. A 2019 study by Great Hotels of the World found 75 percent of travelers extended their business trips for leisure purposes in the past year. Similarly, in a 2018 study, Hilton Hotel & Resorts found that seven out of 10 business travelers between the ages of 25-30 wanted to extend their work trips to incorporate leisure activities.

The industry’s recovery is in sight, and operators need to prepare their properties for a new age of bleisure travel. As these travelers begin booking, here are some key technologies that can help attract bleisure guests and enhance their experiences.

Increasing Promotional Opportunities with Analytics Software

Standing out from competing properties through targeted marketing campaigns can be a vital factor in increasing bleisure travel bookings. Because many bleisure travelers choose to extend a business trip before traveling, hoteliers must communicate special offers and services as early as possible. Advanced analytics software uses vital data to help hoteliers ensure their marketing efforts reach the intended audience, equipping hoteliers with the ability to send promotional offers that meet each guest’s unique needs and interests.

With personalized experiences a key factor for bleisure travelers, customizing promotional efforts to a bleisure traveler’s needs can incentivize guests to increase their stay length and number of bookings. Examples of targeted promotional efforts include running mid-week promotions, incentivizing colleague referrals or inclusive extension perks. Using a digital marketing integration with industry-leading analytics providers, hoteliers can build guest connections with personalized, data-backed offerings, enticing bleisure guests to stay longer and spend more.

Building a Bleisure Loyalty Program with Leading PMS Technology

Existing rewards programs may not meet the unique, blended needs of bleisure travelers, who may desire a loyalty program that offers both work perks and leisure perks. By creating a loyalty program exclusive to bleisure travelers, hoteliers can attract new bleisure guests and increase a bleisure traveler’s likelihood of returning.

With industry-leading PMS providers, integrated loyalty features can assist hoteliers in created an easy-to-use and accessible bleisure loyalty program by leveraging data collected from opted-in guests, further allowing for targeted promotions customized to a guest’s individual interests. With some bleisure guests desiring a family-style vacation and others preferring individual, cultural-rich experiences, the use of guest data allows properties to promote the packages and rewards that may best appeal to each unique guest. Utilizing program tiers can also encourage return visits, and reward frequent or high-spending patrons.

Enhancing amenities with Contactless Solutions

While hoteliers must meet basic bleisure needs, such as reliable Wi-Fi services and well-equipped business spaces, it isn’t enough to attract young bleisure travelers; bleisure travelers, and millennial guests as a whole, increasingly value personal service.

Hoteliers are meeting these needs through contactless guest engagement opportunities. Equipping contactless check-in and check-out services, either through mobile services or physical kiosks, can enhance a bleisure traveler’s experience and streamline a property’s operational efficiency. A property can swiftly meet a busy bleisure traveler’s needs by offering mobile or self-service guest ordering systems, further boosting a property’s F&B revenue.

The increasing importance of bleisure travel presents huge opportunities for hoteliers, particularly in the wake of COVID-19. Although hoteliers are continually adapting to meet the needs of millennial travelers, utilizing the right technology tools to meet a bleisure traveler’s needs will be undeniably vital for hoteliers recovering from the pandemic.