ASTA | introduction
thing goes awry with an executive’s vacation, they could lose a multi-million dollar account. However, those who handle leisure travel for their corporate clients report that it’s worthwhile in terms of both leisure sales and for providing a perceived benefi t to their corporate clients. “Increasingly, we are working with HR
departments, and they view our leisure travel department as a service with a trusted supplier that they can offer their employees — one more valuable benefi t they can provide,” says Hershberger. “That is especially important in today’s tight employment market.” Bedell, whose leisure division exists only
to serve BCD corporate clients, agreed their leisure travel services are an important part of the value they bring to their clients. She noted some corporate clients have actively showcased their vacation services via tradeshows and newsletters, often offering travel promotions.
Separate Departments Corporate and leisure travel require totally
Many employees are looking for fl exible working options
different skills and mindsets and few travel advisors are prepared to do both. That’s why when a business traveler’s
leisure arrangements require anything more complicated than using the employee’s personal credit card to extend their hotel stay and rental car, a corporate travel advisor usually won’t handle it. The employee is typically referred to a separate leisure department or division, and they pay the associated service fees for the leisure part of their trip. “We provide many corporations with
dedicated teams and they don’t want them spending time booking leisure, so they appreciate the separation,” Bedell explains. “Plus, they expect their leisure travel provider to have expertise in segments like safaris, cruising and FIT travel that you wouldn’t fi nd in a corporate department.” “When the referral for a leisure trip or the
leisure component of a business trip comes as a link from their corporate internet site or from the corporate agent, it becomes a totally separate booking, just like any other leisure booking,” says Schadler. “Our corporate and
leisure databases are kept separate, and we gather all the details of the trip components already booked for business to align with the leisure experiences.” In some cases, when the corporate
negotiated rates are available, they can usually be extended to employees for their leisure travel, she adds. “However, we maintain a do- not-book list by corporate client because not all hotel and airline contracts allow this added benefi t and that’s where our Virtuoso preferred partners and hotel program really shine.”
Corporate Policies Vary Every company is different in how they manage bleisure in their travel policies. In many cases, companies have no written policy about extending business trips; in others, the policy is very detailed. While bleisure travel is something everyone
knows is happening, many companies don’t recognize it in their policies because they are unsure of how to approach it, says Casto. “Our sales management teams engage with our clients on it because it isn’t one-size-fi ts-all.”
16 | ASTA | Worldwide Destination Guide 2024/25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
