April 5, 2007
Are Business Trips For Families Too?
Business trips are like a two edged sword, You often have to sacrifice precious time away from your family in order to comply with your work and business obligations. Even though you work is very important, shouldn’t there be a way to achieve more balance?
Apparently, many people are beginning to think so. Corporate America is becoming more flexible and is allowing employees more freedom in juggling their office duties with family life. What a refreshing phenomena!
Here are some interesting statistics. The National Business Travel Association states that 62 percent of U.S. business travelers have started to add a leisure component their business trips. How are they doing that? They simply take a family member of a friend along when they travel for business. Business trips no longer mean all work and no play, long days in business meetings followed by lonely nights in a hotel room. A new [tag-cat]business travel[/tag-cat] era is here.
And rightfully so, since times have changed. Consider the growing number of single parents, women in executive ranks and two-income families, and you will understand why the growing trend towards [tag-ice]working vacations[/tag-ice] that involve the entire family may indeed be a positive one. And in these financially pressed times here is an added bonus: you can save a buck or two by turning company-paid trips into working vacations.
And even hotels have caught on to this new trend and are finding way to encourage ait and profit from it. Many hotels now offer family friendly services that enhance the emerging [tag-tec]business travel[/tag-tec] model. Convention business is a huge money maker in the hotel industry. Some hotels have partnered with Fisher Price Inc, and offer suites with cribs, babies swings, and even Cd’s with lullabies for the business/family traveler. After all, it would be impossible to stuff all your baby supplies into your brief case.
Other family services now being offered convention travelers include baby sitting services, baby food at restaurant, back pack-filled goodies at check-in for teens and much more. In 2007 and beyond business trips no longer separate a family, it may bring them even closer together, since the entire family can now enjoy working vacation.
business travel business trips convention travel convention travelers working vacation
Comments
April 27, 2007
Terry said:
This makes total sense to me, your company are paying for your travel already and so it makes sense to stay on whilst your family catch up with you at the end of business. Another factor that would drive me is the reduction in my carbon foot print it means only one flight instead of two and that one saved flight equates to my entire carbon footprint for a year (excluding flights of course)
May 6, 2007
Anne said:
I think that is a wonderful trend. I'm self employed, so have the luxury of doing things that way anways, but for people who are employees this will be a boon. When I was in the normal working world, I had to travel a lot for my job, and it was terrible to have to leave my boyfriend at the time behind for extended periods of time. Now that I'm married and booking travel by myself, I can book the cheapest times so that I can afford my husband to come too, and we leave to go back home a day later than we have to, so that we can explore for a day and have some fun. The only time I could see this not working would be people sent out to work 'crunch time' on a big project - there's not much point shipping the families out if they won't get to see any of the working partner because of the hours he or she is putting in.
Miss_Sarah said:
I would not dream of taking my kids on a business trip – never mix business with pleasure! The kind of trips I go on are to far from exotic locations, at unsociable hours, and the kids would be bored to death.Plus after a hard day in the office, I like nothing better than unwinding in the hotel bar, or distressing in the gym – I can’t imagine being able to cope with the demands of two kids when I walk out of the office.I’d rather enjoy time with the kids on vacation, and keep business separate.
May 8, 2007
Cymru Am Byth said:
I agree with taking family if there are places to go and things to see. Also I agree if the partner or relative takes care of the children while the other is at work and there are no high expectations from the family of the working partner after they finish a days work. One of my main conflicts with a partner working away in other countries etc is that they do not appreciate the families’ holiday plan to go to a country or town that they have been to on business in the past; for a vacation. Hence catch 22.
May 10, 2007
Attagirl said:
It is about time that companies started understanding that sometimes people just cannot be away from their families for the amount of time the company wants them to be. When I go on business travel I have to bring family because when there is only one adult and no one to leave the kid with you have no choice.