Blended travel lets people switch from work to leisure with ease. Here's how hospitality and travel companies are accommodating this experience.

• Studies show a growing number of employees feel more productive when they have flexible work schedules.
• For business travelers, this means combining work with leisure or blended travel.
• Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts reimagined its hotel spaces, amenities, and service culture to help travelers flex between work and leisure. 

The impacts of social change and work-from-anywhere technology have shifted how people view their careers and leisure time in a post-pandemic world. According to a collaborative survey conducted by Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Stylus — a global trends and business insight service — 75% of respondents said remote work has finally made work-life balance achievable.

With this, a newfound freedom to explore new destinations while on the job has emerged, and 66% of people even said this flexibility makes them more productive.

This new outlook relative to the advantages of combined work and leisure travel has set new expectations among modern travelers who increasingly seek hybrid accommodations and flexible amenities. And no business or enterprise has seen more of a need to meet these new standards than those in the global hotels and resorts industry.

"Our guests are looking for more flexibility to rebalance their lives, and we're continuing to evolve and invest in the blended travel space to provide the lives that they now want to live as they travel," said Ginger Taggart, vice president of brand management at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts.

The rise of blended travel

Blended travel is the result of how the global pandemic changed people's lifestyles and methods of conducting work. 

But now that the majority of the global workforce is hitting the road again, people and businesses realize the flexibility of working, connecting, and exploring in unison is an exciting opportunity to elevate productivity and enhance business relationships. This flexibility also lends itself to better lifestyle satisfaction, improved self-care, and reduced burnout. And the statistics back up this trending sentiment. 

Seventy-two percent of the 3,000 respondents from the Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Stylus survey said they enjoy working from different locations, and 60% of US respondents plan to add leisure days to upcoming business trips. In addition, 80% of current business travelers worry their professional careers and personal lives will suffer if they don't travel more.  

A workforce-led trend

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has acted on the wants and expectations of today's travelers by introducing flexible new spaces and upgraded amenities to fulfill specific guest needs, such as fostering in-person connections with clients and colleagues, increasing on-the-road productivity, and supporting the addition of personal leisure days to business trips.

Crowne Plaza's exclusive hybrid solutions include Plaza Workspaces that allow travelers to flex between solo projects and collaborative networking and team-building meetings while offering customized nooks, pods, and workstations for focused productivity. 

And whether this new era of travel means a guest is tacking on a few personal days to a business trip in London, meeting a prospective client while on a personal bucket-list excursion in Budapest, or making Washington DC their new home-away-from-home for weeks or months at a time — what's ultimately important is combining work and leisure into an organic, seamless and empowering travel experience. 

"A new, agile generation doesn't want two opposing ideas — work and leisure — awkwardly put together: They want flexible, fit-for-the-future spaces and services from a brand that understands them," Taggart said. "Many other hospitality brands put the blend into bleisure, but at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, we know the future is about flexibility." 

What blended travel looks like

Businesses in the travel and hospitality industry must incorporate inter-connected features and amenities that help guests achieve a stress-free balance between professional commitments and personal activities. 

For example, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts' WorkLife Rooms, exclusively outfitted with distraction-less desk workspaces, provide all the resources needed for laser-focused productivity, plus the comforts of cozy sofa nooks and Sleep Advantage® kits that help travelers of all types relax and recharge.

"It's vital to provide these transitional moments for the new breed of connected traveler," Taggart said. "That's why we've created fresh, convivial, and flexible spaces that empower you to craft your own experience and make the most of your journey."

That is the crux of what makes blended travel a transformational trend, especially with more than half of workers agreeing that working from anywhere makes them happier and more productive. It provides empowerment to every traveler who can flip from work to leisure mode and back at a moment's notice.

Blended travel is not the future of travel. It is here today. Among travelers of all types and around the globe, there is now a keen expectation that travel and hospitality providers understand — and offer — what guests need to be truly productive and satisfied on the road. That goes for seniors working a retirement side hustle to Gen-Zers who are committed to accelerating their careers without sacrificing their quality of life — and every flex-minded traveler in between.

"For us, developing an ever-evolving blended traveler strategy has been part of our DNA for years," Taggert said, "And consequently, we have developed an offer that allows our guests to switch between business and leisure modes at will. 

Crowne Plaza's commitment to guest-centered spaces, technology, amenities and services is a hallmark of its brand – and one it will continue to pioneer as the blended travel leader.

Book your blended travel experience at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts.

This post was created by Insider Studios with Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts.