Oaks Hotels and Resorts is predicting a rise in bleisure travel, cross generational travel plus ‘instagrammable’ destinations over the next 12 months.
Aptly named, bleisure travellers are business executives who are ditching the traditional rule of mixing work with pleasure by extending their business trips in order to explore their host destinations, squeeze in some down time, and achieve the ever-elusive and highly sought after work-life balance.
Oaks Hotels & Resorts’ Director of Marketing and Brand Loyalty, Mrs Kira Klein, commented, “Our central, city properties located in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and even regional Queensland, are seeing a number of business delegates lengthen their stays to enjoy the local sights and experiences. We’re also seeing many companies supporting this movement by encouraging their employees to maximise their time away, bookending their work commitments with a few days of R&R.”
While Oaks Hotels & Resorts’ CBD locations will continue to appeal to corporate travellers and holidaymakers seeking mini city getaways, the younger generations are set to take a slightly different course with their travel plans come the New Year, opting for destinations that are more off-the-beaten-track.
This year saw an upsurge of millennials traveling to holiday-spots based on their “Instagrammability”, but Oaks Hotels & Resorts is predicting that 2018 will see quite the contrary, with more young people increasingly yearning for unconventional destinations that are crowd and selfie-stick free, delivering a richer and deeper travel experience.
“We’re expecting our regional and more under-the-radar destinations like Broome’s Cable Beach and the Top End to benefit from this shift and will make their way onto more and more bucket lists in the New Year. Trends indicate that young travellers are becoming progressively interested in the epic adventures that can be had in their very own backyards, and we encourage them to embrace these incredible destinations and consider them when planning their next getaway, ” she said.
Cross-generational travel is also set to cement itself as a prevalent holiday trend, with Aussie families seeking accommodation options that not only deliver that home away from home feeling, but also ample space when travelling with the whole tribe in tow.
Sizeable families are increasingly taking advantage of the comfort and convenience that comes with self-contained travel, from full kitchens to generously sized lounge and dining areas, and even washing machines and dryers (hand washing in the bathroom basin can get tiresome!).
“Our family-focused resorts like Oaks Oasis on the Sunshine Coast, Oaks Pacific Blue Resort in Port Stephens, and Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort in the Hunter Valley all offer capacious three bedroom room types, which are extremely well received by visiting families. We know that travelling with a tribe is not always easy, so we set out to make their stay with us as stress-free as possible, providing a relaxing home base that can not only comfortably fit the whole family, but also accommodate their domestic needs.”