When Travel Agencies Fail on the Leisure Part of ‘Bleisure’ Trips
Skift Take
With so-called workcations on the rise, Amadeus is ready to support travel management platforms that reflect the way employees are blending their professional and personal lives, something agencies just aren't grasping.
Rather than leaving staff to their own devices when mixing work trips with long vacations, a travel agency should take control. The co-founder and CEO of Norwegian startup Travelin.ai thinks most corporate travel agencies have taken the wrong approach to helping customers deal with the complexities of globetrotting employees.
"A lot of companies talk about 'bleisure' but they can’t execute it," said Roy Golden of Travelin.ai, which is part of the Amadeus for Startups program. "The leisure requirements of the business traveler are not met. They want to bring their partners, friends, children, extend their stay before or after, they want to mix the flights together."
He argues companies are having a "tough time" working out the hybrid model of working, and are losing track of where everybody is, with tax complications the main headache. "They have to hire lawyers, accountants, and enter manually where (employees) have been. Then they get audited. It’s a mess," he added.
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