The BizCation: how to combine business with leisure

Travelling across the globe for business can be exhausting. The hotel pool and the beaches you pass on the way to meetings look stunning, but business comes first. But hold it. Why not take some time off after your last meeting and turn your trip into a BizCation? Combining business with pleasure definitely is a trend among business travellers. BlueBook offers inspiration and do’s and don’ts.

When we asked BlueBook members about their business travel habits, one anecdote kept haunting us. An experienced business traveller who visits China frequently, listed the number of appointments on a typical day in Shanghai, followed by the obligatory dinners and drinks. After five exhausting days and a final meeting on day 6, a car was waiting to rush him to the airport, just in time to make the KLM-flight home. Arriving in Europe early next morning, he was expected to join a staff meeting… He had never considered taking a day or more to relax and prepare his talks or spend some time after his last meeting, to let things sink in and make up his mind about decisions to take.

Here to stay

Forty-three per cent of international travelers always take their mobile device with them on getaways, according to a Pullman Hotels survey. As the lines between our professional and personal lives blur, so do our travel habits.
People are becoming more aware of their body and mind’s need for relaxation and for quality time. And so, travelling halfway around the world to oversee business, talking to colleagues to business partners and flying right back is out. The BizCation is here to stay. A Hilton Hotels survey showed 67 percent of its frequent customers combined business with leisure. 43 percent take significant others on business trips.

Hotels in typical conference destinations like Miami, Orlando and Las Vegas are actively focusing the BizCation need. Some hotels have started asking their guests at the time of booking if they are interested in an extension. A conference of accountants held in Orlando advertised on the website, “Your Bizcation Awaits,” adding hard-to resist promo information about the great restaurants and sights in the nearby Walt Disney World Resort.

Practical questions

If this is all new to you, you may have some practical questions.

• What about finance? Obviously, your employer is paying for your flights from home to the actual business destination. Make sure you pay your add-on flights and hotel nights yourself, including those of your spouse, if you decide to include him or her in your plans. This allows you to spend a few days in Singapore on your way to Sydney or Manila, as long as you pay for the additional stopover bill yourself.
• Be practical, is the important advice that seasoned BizCationers offer. If you plan your business trip to New York toward the end of the week, it is easier to extend your stay for the weekend. Another way to be practical: if you are visiting a country on a business trip and would not mind staying a bit longer to relax, express your desire to experience the destination. Your hosts will often be proud to show you their sights.
• If you plan to include your spouse in your BizCation plans, make sure your company knows. Inform your boss and colleagues and make clear that you pick up the tab for additional cost. You may be up for a pleasant surprise - some businesses even allow employees to travel business class will also allow them to turn in the higher-fare ticket for two economy-class seats. Other companies just offer a travel allowance and leave it up to the employee to decide how to spend it.
• Be sensible. If you are going to be extremely busy during the business part of your BizCation, don’t bring the spouse. Or have him or her join you at the end of the business trip, so you will be able to spend real quality time together from that moment on. And if you insist on traveling together, be clear about one thing before you book: business comes first.

Five great BizCation ideas

• Travelling to Washington, Baltimore or Boston for some meetings? Why not extend your stay in this city, or move to New York for a few days of shopping, sightseeing, biking in Central Park and enjoying a Broadway shows or two.
• If you are going to attend a conference in Miami, add a weekend before or after the event to spend in Orlando, to have some time off in the [parks]. Some business travellers take their family on the trip, have them stay in Orlando while they attend the conference in Miami and join the fun afterwards.
• If you’re flying to Johannesburg, Durban or Cape Town on your business trip, it is hard to resist the idea of extending the stay to enjoy all the great things that South Africa offers. Just do it. Either go on a short wine vacation on the Cape, take a few days off for a great safari in Kruger Park or tee-off on some of South Africa’s wonderful golf courses!
• After a few days of talks, dinners and drinking parties in China’s big cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or Hong Kong, you are probably longing for some fresh air. Take a short plane ride to Hainan, China’s great vacation island. If you are in Beijing, hop on a train to the beaches of China’s coastal Shandong Province. You deserve some r&r!
• If you are into golf, the possibilities to relax during a trip or to add a few days of ‘fun on the fairways’ are endless. One BlueBook member offered us his list of ‘sure BizCation winners’: “When I am in Shenzhen for business I always include a few days at the many great golf courses of Mission Hills.” He adds: “I never go to Bangkok for business without adding a few days in Phuket to play Red Mountain or Blue Canyon. Similarly: Denpasar – Bali – on a business trip means Nirwana Bali Golf Club!”