Corporate Events and the Bleisure Trend

December 2, 2019

Bleisure is the biggest trend in business travel and it’s not going away.

On Wednesday mornings at the L’Auberge in Sedona, guests – many in town for business —  gather in the hotel’s front grove for free instruction on the Japanese art of forest bathing. Led by the hotel’s  yoga instructor-slash-spiritual concierge, participants commune with trees near a calming rippling stream, then scribble thoughts in a hotel-provided notebook, made with recycled materials, of course.

bleisure corporate travel event events
Forest bathing in Sedona, courtesy of Instagram

It’s one example of hospitality offerings tailored to today’s business traveler, who in the interest of time and sanity often couples work with personal upkeep and leisure. It’s so common there’s even a portmanteau, “bleisure.” Studies have shown that bleisure (business + leisure = bleisure) may be the key to preventing employee burnout.  Whereas in the past hotels have obliged with, say, having a gym or diet Coke at the restaurant, today the options must rise to a wellness-crazy world. Elizabeth Traub of 1Hotels puts it simply, from a brand perspective.  “Today, it’s an essential part of hotels when they define their brands and who they want to appeal to.”

The ideas of bleisure have also long infiltrated corporate events.

In the old days it meant zhushing up your corporate events with a manicure station or massage chair.    Today insertions like spa-water hydration stations or choosing caterers for more healthy meals are second nature.  Skift reports that at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas meeting planners have asked for everything from yoga classes to meditation rooms to coordinating hikes off the Las Vegas Strip.  Or you can go full Goop: the company’s health summit featured collagen martinis, sound bath meditation and crystal therapy.

experiential events event corporate
Coco Events ‘ branded coloring walls, an memorable hit at corporate conferences

Planning a more entertaining corporate event or activation is another way to incorporate bleisure,  and can make for memorable experiences. According to BizBash, at this year’s event industry convention IMEX America, tips were given for experiential activities that stimulate creativity, like digital portrait painting and a string art wall.   A comedy expert was brought in to teach the improv gospel of “Yes and…” where comedians build sketches piggybacking on each other’s ideas,    promoting collaboration, flexible thinking and listening skills.

So what are some ways to easily incorporate bleisure into your corporate events?

1.  Get out. Integrate exploration, as 83% of business travelers will venture out to discover a city on their own anyway. Glasshouses venues, including existing venue Glasshouse Chelsea , are already in NYC — the best city in the world, if you ask us — but the upcoming location on 12th Avenue, The Glasshouse , is also a stone’s throw from the Intrepid and other cultural activities.

experiential events event corporate
Floral Therapy station by Bastille

2.  Go immersive. It doesn’t have to be extravagant: maybe a selfie wall, or a flower-arranging station  at your corporate events. Or take a note from experiential activations. To launch a season of Buzzfeed’s Unsolved , the company built a  funhouse.  Each spooky room highlighted an aspect of the show’s season, like alien abductions and ghostly apparitions.  How would this translate to your industry? (Hopefully without  the ghosts).

3.  Impart information while getting hands on. People enjoy learning, and retain information better while doing an activity. Maybe it’s something as simple as a cooking class. Or follow the example of The Macallan, who launched their Edition No. 5 single malt through a collaboration with The Pantone Color Institute.  The launch featured a multisensory walkthrough in New York’s Oculus, with each interactive room simulating a facet of the product’s creation. Culminating in, of course, a tasting.

4.  And last but not least: Take it outdoors. Who wouldn’t remember their first forest bath?

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