Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence
Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence
As work evolves, how we travel and interact with coworkers changes. Better known as “frolleagues,” colleague/friend relationships reshape travel dynamics as coworkers continually look for ways to extend business trips to enjoy time with their team.
Frolleagues’ impact on travel should not be ignored: According to recent findings, 29% of travelers worldwide now take leisure trips with frolleagues. Feeding the movement is a need for team building (1 in 4 business travelers say it’s their main reason for booking trips). These figures aren’t static – Hilton’s 2025 Trends Report predicts that the number of social/professional combo bookings will rise significantly in the coming year.
Adding to this shift is the growing popularity of “bleisure” travel, combining business and leisure trips into one unique vacation experience.
In Hilton’s survey, 25% of respondents who plan to travel more for bleisure trips in 2025 cited extending their journeys to spend time with frolleagues as both “convenient and fun.”
This unique intersection of friendship and professional collaboration is redefining the expectations and needs of modern travelers, challenging travel partners to adapt in innovative ways.
Traveling with frolleagues stems from blending today’s interconnected work cultures and a growing emphasis on work-life balance. With remote and hybrid work models making face-to-face interactions less frequent, business trips have become prime opportunities for colleagues to strengthen both professional ties and personal relationships.
Leisure travel with frolleagues allows professionals to:
Extending a work trip to include leisure time offers a dual advantage: completing professional objectives while enjoying downtime with coworkers with similar interests.
As this trend continues, frolleagues traveling together are redefining their accommodation preferences. Hotels, resorts, restaurants, and the like have a significant opportunity to cater to these travelers by focusing on certain amenities and events:
Frolleagues value hotels with spaces that transition seamlessly between work and play. Properties offering co-working spaces alongside lounges, rooftop bars, or game rooms are particularly appealing. This dual-purpose design allows for daily productivity and bonding in the evenings. Suites with shared living areas can also serve this purpose.
Proximity to business hubs and attractions is a high priority. Frolleagues seek accommodations that minimize travel hassles while maximizing convenience for work meetings and after-hours exploration. Providing information on public transit in urban areas is a plus, and flexible booking options are an appreciated perk for last-minute plan changes.
For bleisure travelers, hosting mixers or happy hours where frolleagues can interact with each other and professionals from outside their company can enhance the experience. Events like wine tastings, live music nights, or pop-up markets on hotel premises provide opportunities to relax and connect. Classics like cooking classes or wellness retreats also foster team building.
Bleisure travel is already a fast-growing sector, and its alignment with frolleague trips makes it even more significant for the travel industry. Travelers who mix business with leisure often extend their stays to take advantage of downtime after conferences or meetings. This extension allows for activities like sightseeing, dining out, or even team-building adventures with their colleagues-turned-friends.
The Hilton report underscores the appeal of this trend: spending extra time with frolleagues is convenient, enjoyable, and productive.
With shared costs and the ability to blend responsibilities with recreation, bleisure trips with frolleagues offer a well-rounded experience that benefits personal and professional lives.
What’s clear is that the line between business and leisure is increasingly blurred, with social dynamics taking center stage. Frolleagues’ travel isn’t just a blip in market research— it reflects how today’s professionals are redefining travel to better align with their personal and work lives.
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