Here’s why adding leisure to your business travel is beneficial for you

Paid for by National Car Rental

Traveling for work can be exciting, as it often means you’ll be visiting new locations, trying different cuisines or breaking up your routine. But for some travelers, business trips can also be tiring and monotonous, especially if your schedule is packed with little to no downtime.

For that reason, an increasing number of travelers are merging business and leisure travel, a popular trend known as “bleisure” travel. This increasingly popular philosophy influencing the way you travel can bring an array of benefits, including the satisfaction of knowing that you didn’t waste any opportunity to enjoy your travel destination.

If bleisure travel piques your interest, National Car Rental and Samantha McKenna, a frequent traveler and CEO of Samsales Consulting, share top bleisure travel benefits.

You can save money.

Since most workplaces typically cover approved work-related travel expenses (such as air travel) associated with your business trip, it’s economically advantageous to add personal days to the trip for a quick vacay. And if you’re in town for a conference or a trade show, check with the hotel to see if they’ll offer you the same room rate for the additional days.

Bleisure decreases travel burnout.

Constantly packing and unpacking your suitcases or even figuring out the logistics of getting to your destination can be exhausting — which is why McKenna points out that “striking a balance between work and downtime on a trip is the key to avoiding travel burnout.” By adding an appropriate amount of time for rest or exploration, you can gain a sense of place at your destination and even develop some excitement and motivation to book more trips for work.

Bleisure maximizes your entire travel experience.

Once you’ve gotten in the habit of adding those extra days to some of your work trips, you’ll notice that you’ve grabbed extra travel days without using as much paid time off by tapping into the weekend. With bleisure travel, you might even be able to squeeze in quality time with your family by bringing them along — or if your work trip ends up near a hometown of some extended family members.

McKenna recently booked a trip to Miami for a client's sales kickoff meeting and extended her stay to take advantage of the warm weather and beaches, plus utilize the opportunity for her husband to visit Miami for the first time. “I love the sense of accomplishment it gives me to see a new city or have easy access to a neighboring area or town that has been on my travel hit list,” McKenna says.

You can conveniently explore the areas around your destination by renting from National Car Rental. And if you sign up for National’s Emerald Club loyalty program, you’ll earn one rental credit for every qualified car rental. Accrue seven credits and you’ll receive a free rental day. You can also bypass the rental counter, choose your vehicle from the Emerald Aisle and pay only the midsize rate (a deal that’s available only in the U.S. and Canada).

You can discover new places and cultures.

With a little bleisure, you can transform what once might have seemed like a mundane trip into a memorable experience. If you’re fortunate enough to visit large metropolitan cities, McKenna mentions, “take time out to research the areas, understand what they're known for and plan your activities in advance.”

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From National Car Rental:

National Car Rental is a premium, National Car Rental is a premium, internationally recognized car rental brand that serves frequent airport travelers worldwide. With National, time-sensitive customers in the United States can quickly choose their own vehicles, based upon their advance reservation and requested car class, and then simply drive away from the airport. To sign up for the Emerald Club, the car rental industry’s first comprehensive frequent-renter program, visit nationalcar.com.

This article was paid for by National Car Rental and created by Yahoo Creative Studios. The Yahoo Life editorial staff did not participate in the creation of this content.