WHAT THE DATA SAY: 1 in 3 planning "bleisure" travel

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

WHEN THE BOSS IS AWAY, WORKERS ARE LESS PRODUCTIVE

A third of American workers admit to being less productive and “slacking off” while the boss is on summer vacation, according to our Harris Poll research with Dayforce.

• 41% of full-time employed adults report being less productive during the summer months.
• 35% say they often slack off while their boss is on vacation.
• To address this, 58% of employees say their employer offers some type of summertime flexibility, including flexible work hours/schedules (32%), increased work-from-home options (22%), summer Fridays (19%) and seasonal work-from-anywhere options (17%).

BLEISURE TRAVEL TREND FOR 1 IN 3 AMERICANS

Travel is back, and half of Americans say they are traveling more for work – with 1 in 3 extending work travel for personal time away, according to The Harris Poll’s new “Travel and Hospitality Snapshot.”

• 28% of Americans who travel for work say their company is ramping up travel.
• 51% say that it’s likely that they will travel more for work this year compared to last year.
• 18% say they still travel for work less now than before the pandemic.
• Of those who travel for work, 24% travel at least once a week, 24% travel at least once a month, and 43% travel at least once every three months.
• 56% of work trips remain within the same state where the employee works.
• 24% of work travel is international.
• 31% of those who travel for work try to extend the length of their work trips into personal vacations – creating the “bleisure travel” trend.
• Even if they can’t sneak in a few extra days, 58% of business travelers say they try to explore as much of the destination as time allows when traveling for work.
• 59% who travel for work say that they usually book with the same brands for personal and business travel accommodations.
• 49% of business travelers book their own work travel plans and accommodations.
• Delta Air Lines ranks No. 1 among the top U.S. airlines on customer satisfaction and is viewed as more “premium” and “fun” than American Airlines and United.
• Other brands that overindex among business travelers: Vineyard Vines, Qdoba, Hermes, Canada Goose and Omega.

AI IS THE NEW TRAVEL AGENT

Can AI create a dream vacation that includes culture, nature, hotels and transportation? Our Harris Poll study with MoneyLion shows it’s possible.

• 70% of Americans are either using or planning to use AI for travel planning.
• 20% of 18- to 34-year-olds already integrate AI into travel plans.
• 56% are likely to use AI to help find restaurants, 53% to find hotel destinations, 51% for local transportation and 50% for flight recommendations.
• 50% also will use AI to help with travel budgeting.

CALLING ALL COMMS AND PR LEADERS

If you are a communications or PR leader – or a CEO with views on comms – please take our annual survey about perceptions of the industry. The research examines the state of communications in the workplace, evolving attitudes about AI, how strategies are shifting around DE&I, ESG and brand safety.

• Take the survey at this link.

ICYMI

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• Many Healthcare Workers Are Running Out of Money Between Paychecks and Find It Challenging To Pay Bills on Time
• National Research Group Forecast: ‘Twisters’ Tracking for Major $40M-$55M U.S. Opening
• Stagwell Marketing Cloud PRophet Partners with What’s Trending to Launch ‘Creator Spotlight’ Series