How to turn a business trip into a mini vacation: a step-by-step plan

A business trip covers your flight and hotel. You get a chance to see a new city. This travel format is called bleisure, from the English words business and leisure.

In 2024, 55% of business travelers took at least two combined trips (according to a study by Navan and Skift, 2025).

The step-by-step plan below will help you combine a business trip with a personal vacation and maintain a good relationship with your manager.

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Extend your hotel stay

💡 In short:

• Arrange the corporate rate extension in advance, before the booking is confirmed.
• Put personal days in the low season, when prices drop.

Ask the manager to extend the booking at the corporate rate. Large hotels accommodate this to build customer loyalty. Ask about breakfast, airport transfer, and late checkout. These options are often included in the rate, so you don't pay for them separately.

Ask about your hotel loyalty program status. Sometimes extending the room for personal days keeps the same corporate rate. Clarify this in advance, not at the front desk. In high season, there are no available rooms left there.

Choose the best period to save money

Conferences and forums often take place outside the peak tourist season. In November, Lisbon hosts Web Summit. In 2026, it runs from November 9 to 12 (dates confirmed on the conference's official website). There are fewer tourist crowds, and accommodation prices are lower.

Personal days in the low season cost you less. You can stroll around the city at a relaxed pace and feel like a local. Compare accommodation costs in advance: check prices on Trip.com.

© Web Summit · CC BYPhoto: Web Summit, CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), Wikimedia Commons

Check the city events calendar. A major exhibition will push accommodation prices up for the entire quarter. Pick dates a week before or after it, and your budget stays intact.

Figure out whether you need extra days

Not everyone needs a separate vacation after a business trip. If your schedule is flexible, add rest into your working days. A morning run, lunch at a restaurant, or a trip to the market relieves stress. This creates a vacation atmosphere without extra costs.

When the program is packed, separate free days after the event are justified. It's better to plan the program for your free hours in advance: excursions and tours on GetYourGuide.

Coordinate with family and loved ones

It's great to explore cities with children, spouses, and friends. But you're going on a business trip, not a personal journey. Discuss leisure options with your loved ones in advance. Suggest they arrive at the end of the official part of the event.

After work meetings, take a breath and spend time with family. Decide in advance who pays for the extra days and who books the accommodation.

This way you'll avoid arguments during the trip itself.

Set rules with your employer in advance

Clarify the details of the business trip with your manager. Pay special attention to the financial side. Find out whether you can be offline in the morning if you went on a sightseeing tour. Ask about reimbursement for public transport used for personal matters.

It's better to clarify everything before the trip. Otherwise, you pay for losses out of your own pocket. If the hotel doesn't include airport transfer, look at options: Kiwitaxi transfer.

Meet deadlines and state your position clearly

If you decide to extend the trip, present it to your manager properly. Not everyone is ready to let an employee go for several days. Prepare your arguments: how the rest will affect deadlines. Name specific dates for finishing the project work.

Phrases like "I feel like it" and "I'll do my best" won't convince a boss. Show an action plan and the expected result. Then the decision in your favor comes faster. If the project is complex, attach a short note with the stages. This way the manager sees that you're in control of the work even while traveling.

© Shixart1985 · CC BYPhoto: Shixart1985, CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), Wikimedia Commons

Recharge with ideas for projects

Look around and see the world from a different angle. When you're tired and burned out, creative thoughts don't come on their own. Think about what bleisure experience will energize your projects and teamwork. A new environment suggests unconventional solutions. Your manager will appreciate your initiative and will easily give you personal rest days next time.

Use the trip for business benefit

Surrounded by locals, you see familiar things in a new way. Think about which traits of the city's residents can help you understand your target audience. What growth directions have appeared in your plans? Gather proposals and prepare arguments.

Prove that your initiatives specifically will save the company time and money. This is a good chance to establish yourself and get a promotion. A manager appreciates an employee who brings back not only a report but also ideas from a trip.

Preparing for a business trip includes more than just negotiation goals. Tickets, apartments, and transfers take a lot of time. Plan them in advance so your free hours are left for the city and rest.

⁉️🤔 Frequently asked questions

What is a bleisure trip?

Bleisure combines a business trip and personal leisure. You fly for work, then add a few free days to the trip.

Who pays for the extra days?

The employer pays for travel and accommodation on the event days. Everything you add beyond that, you pay yourself. Sometimes the hotel keeps the corporate rate for personal nights too, so expenses are lower. Agree in advance with your manager on which expenses the company is willing to cover.

Do you need a business visa for a work trip?

It depends on the country and your citizenship. For some destinations, a separate business visa is required, not a tourist one. Check the requirements at the consulate in advance. For trips to Schengen, note that ETIAS is not yet in effect and applications are not being accepted (according to the official EU website).

How do you convince your manager to extend a business trip?

Come with a plan, not a request. Emphasize the benefit to the company: fresh ideas, new contacts, market knowledge.

Can you take your family on a business trip?

Yes, if the employer doesn't mind. You pay for the extra days, accommodation, and tickets for them yourself.

In short: what to book

• If you only need extra hotel days: hotels on Trip.com.
• If you want a program for your free time: excursions on GetYourGuide.
• If the hotel doesn't provide a transfer: Kiwitaxi transfer.

Plan your extra days in advance and compare prices. Then the business trip pays for a full vacation.