Gone are the days when traveling for work meant leaving the family and hitting the road (or airport) alone. The rules of work and play changed with the rise in remote jobs and the boom in bleisure travel.
Indeed, 62 percent of business travelers report they are more frequently blending business and personal travel than pre-pandemic, with 42 percent adding leisure days to business trips and 79 percent staying at the same property for their business and vacation, according to the Global Business Travel Association’s August 2023 Business Travel Index Outlook Report. And more than 60 percent of business trips in the United States in 2022 expanded into bleisure trips, reports Orlando, Fla.-based Stratos Jet Charters Inc.
Once considered a trend, bleisure travel is here to stay, in part due to economics. The rising cost of transportation and lodging makes bringing the family on a business trip an attractive financial prospect.
Bleisure travel has become a game changer for meeting and event planners. Holding group functions at family-friendly destinations boosts attendance and encourages extended stays. Here, ConventionSouth shares some of the South’s top spots for work and play.
Fun in the sun
Given its beaches, theme parks, and an average of 237 sunny days a year, Florida is a perennial favorite for families. TradeWinds Island Resorts has something for planners and families. The St. Pete Beach property includes two resorts—Island Grand and RumFish Beach Resort—and guests may use the amenities of both resorts.
“We see a high percentage of meeting attendees extending their stay either pre- or post-conference dates and bringing their family along,” says Karleen Johnson, TradeWinds’ director of sales.
For planners, there are a combined 897 guest rooms and villas, 70,000 square feet of meeting and function space with 24 renovated meeting rooms and two lockable meeting planner offices. There are also 15 restaurants and lounges on the property.
For attendees and their families, TradeWinds features 40 acres of white-sand beach on the Gulf of Mexico, nine pools, a 33,500-gallon aquarium and a touch tank, a floating ocean waterpark, zipline, pirate and magic shows, mini-golf, and the Zonk Club drop-off camps with counselor-supervised programs for ages 5-12. Among the new amenities are pickleball courts and SunSetter Game Zone, a play area with games geared toward families and teens. Many activities are included in the resort’s amenity fee.
Farther south in Florida, Playa Largo Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection, is another destination that’s popular for mixing business with pleasure. The waterfront property has 177 luxury rooms, suites, bungalow villas, and a private beach house; four onsite restaurants; and nearly 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting, entertainment, and event space, including a 600-capacity ballroom with a private courtyard.
Set on 14.5 acres in Key Largo with views of Florida Bay, the resort is a haven for naturalists due to its proximity to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, and Everglades National Park. Amenities include a private marina, spa, and plenty of water activities, such as glass-bottomed boat rides, sunset cruises, and environmental tours that take groups into the bay. “We have part of the Everglades National Park in the bay, so visitors can learn about the local ecosystem from the guides, and oftentimes, you’ll spot a manatee, dolphins, and all sorts of fish—sometimes even small sharks,” says Heather Turkay, the resort’s director of sales and marketing.
Kids’ activities are always on the calendar at Playa Largo, including arts and crafts, games, and activities by the pool. If your room includes a soaker tub, guests can request a bath concierge, which includes a bath bomb, water book, and hooded sea-animal towels.
The general resort fee includes the use of bikes, daily activities on the pool deck, morning smoothies in the gift shop, and even a fishing pole and bait. “Our catch-and-release program is extremely popular with kids, and often fishing out on the dock includes manatee spottings, too,” Turkay says.
Families also can enjoy time together at the nightly Even Tide celebration. “It’s a time for relaxation, and there’s live music at the pool, cocktails or mocktails down on the beach, and a bonfire,” Turkay says.
Turtles and tee times
The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina offers a beachside setting that beckons meeting planners, with renovated rooms and suites, four onsite dining options, and nearly 39,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including 22 event rooms, 13 breakout rooms, and the Grand Ballroom that can hold 1,600. Attendees like the three pools, 26 area golf courses, spa, and private access to 12 miles of beachfront.
“There is something for guests of all ages to enjoy at our resort,” says Steve French, the resort’s director of sales and marketing. “Hilton Head Island is a very family-friendly destination and has been welcoming visitors of all ages for generations.”
A seasonal calendar of family activities at the resort includes music, games, biking, cannonball contests, dive-in movies, and arts and crafts, in addition to boat rentals, fishing charters, island exploration, and guided kayak eco-tours. Turtle Talks led by Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head Island, a volunteer organization that protects the local sea turtle population and monitors nesting and hatching activity, are a fun and educational way to learn about these endangered reptiles.
Mountains of merriment
The South has lots of family-friendly destinations beyond the beach. For those who like mountain settings, Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is ideal. The city has always been a family-friendly destination, but over the years, it has developed the infrastructure needed to host meetings and events, says Mike Gwinn, senior sales manager for the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. And that’s good timing, given the area’s boom in bleisure travel.
“We began to plan as much as 20 years ago, anticipating that the market would grow, and it has,” Gwinn says. “Families come here anyway, so it’s a great place to come for a meeting and bring the family along because there is so much they can do while you’re in session or for the entire family to do after the meeting is over.”
Major meeting space includes the 232,000-square-foot LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge and The Ramsey Hotel and Convention Center, with 208 guest rooms and 18,086 square feet of meeting space. The area offers more than 80 attractions, from amusement parks and alpine slides to mountain coasters, theaters, and dinner shows. The Island in Pigeon Forge is an entertainment destination, with a 200-foot observation wheel, galleries, shopping, rides, restaurants, hotels, and a dancing fountain show. A trolley system makes it easy to get around, with multiple routes and stops throughout the city.
“Coming soon are even more attractions,” Gwinn says. “This year, we’ll welcome a Crayola Experience and NERF Action Xperience so families will have more hands-on indoor opportunities that can be enjoyed any time of year regardless of the weather.”
Dollywood has the best-known family-friendly offerings in Pigeon Forge, with two resorts with meeting space: Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa and the new Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort. “HeartSong greatly increases our meeting space size, and it also allows us to host larger corporate and association groups that often have a longer length of stay,” says Cordelia Morrell, director of sales for The Dollywood Company. “And, of course, there are so many perks we can offer them not only at the resort itself but by extending their stay pre- or post-event to take full advantage of Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash Country.”
Those perks include trolley transportation to the theme park and waterpark, priority access, and early entry on Saturdays for exclusive ride time. “We also have a complimentary package delivery so resort guests can have packages purchased at the park delivered back to the resort for them so they don’t have to carry them around,” Morrell says.
Dollywood, the Golden Ticket Award-winner for Best Kids’ Area, has 11 experiences geared toward families, particularly those with younger children. Its Big Bear Mountain ride won the Golden Ticket Award for Best Family Coaster of 2023.
For Dollywood resort guests, Camp DW offers year-round activities for kids and their parents, such as pool parties, birdhouse building, s’mores by the firepit, storytelling, and arts and crafts. The holidays bring special activities, including building a gingerbread house and writing letters to Santa. “Kids love Camp DW, and it’s a really fun way for parents to spend time with their kids and engage in a creative environment,” Morrell says.
In the mountains of West Virginia, The Resort at Glade Springs is a four-season destination for meetings and vacations. For planners, the resort offers a conference center with more than 20,000 square feet of space, catering, and four onsite restaurants.
Attendees and their families can enjoy activities and attractions, including pickleball, skiing, laser tag, bubble soccer, disc golf, swimming, archery, bowling, escape rooms, pools, a lake, and the newly updated Arcave at the resort’s Leisure Center, with classic arcade games such as skeeball, air hockey, and claw machines.
For a memorable summer camp experience, the resort offers the supervised Camp Glade for children 5-12 from June through August. The facility features indoor and outdoor playgrounds, a movie theater, and a toddler room. Every week brings a new theme with new activities, including tennis, canoeing, hiking, and swimming. Spring through autumn brings Kids Night Out, with dinner, bowling, movies, and a bonfire.
For a unique group experience, the resort offers excursions to New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, located 12 miles away. A shuttle takes guests on a daylong excursion filled with spectacular views of one of the world’s oldest rivers, the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere, and the mile-wide gorge. The outing includes a hike, lunch, and snack.
“It’s a great time and a great bonding experience, whether utilized by families or meeting attendees,” says Heather Ouimette, the resort’s director of sales and catering. “It’s one of so many family-friendly activities that can be enjoyed here. We have a lot of groups that regularly choose to host here year after year because of the amenities like this that we offer.”
