Travel Teams: Thriving in Hybrid Mode

Guest Blog - thanks to Jane Sunley, best-selling business author and co-founder of culture and engagement specialists, Hendrick & Hyde

For travel industry leaders navigating hybrid working who want to keep their cultures alive and thriving, keeping teams connected, and people feeling valued, whether they’re at home, in the office, or somewhere in between.

Hybrid is no longer a temporary fix - it’s part of working life in the UK.According to the latest ONS data, almost three in ten working adults now have a hybrid arrangement, and the figure is climbing. It’s most common among 30 - 49-year-olds, parents, and those in management roles. It’s also strongly linked to pay and qualifications; degree holders are currently ten times more likely to work hybrid than those without.

For the travel industry, hybrid has been a game-changer, enabling reservation teams to handle enquiries from home, marketing and product teams to collaborate across cities, and finance teams to run smoothly with a mix of in-office and remote days. However, it’s a controversial model not without its tensions. Almost half of UK employers are now saying they plan to push for full-time office attendance within a year, and colleagues are, understandably, pushing against it. In fact, research shows that almost half of hybrid workers would take a pay cut just to keep their flexibility, and one in ten employers have already lost good people because they wouldn’t offer it.

The challenge of connection - especially for new starters.For experienced employees, hybrid can be a comfortable balance. But for graduates, apprentices, and others in their first job, working mostly from home can mean missing out on the ‘water cooler’ moments, those informal learning experiences where quick questions are answered, ideas spark, and bonds form. In travel, where so much knowledge is passed on through shared stories and day-to-day exposure, ensuring new entrants feel included is essential. Without that, they can become isolated, less confident, and more likely to leave before they’ve truly found their feet.

Five ways travel leaders can make hybrid work in 2025:

1.       Keep culture alive - everywhere.Culture shouldn’t vanish the moment someone logs off. Blend in-person rituals, like quarterly away-days, with virtual ones, such as travel team story swaps. A TravelPerk study found that 58% of UK workers say in-person meetings help them feel they belong, and 43% say they spark creativity, so mix the two intentionally.

2.       Paint a shared picture of the future. Whether your focus is on expanding sustainable travel options, tapping into the growing leisure market (forecast to make up 30% of business trips by 2028), or elevating customer service, bring your team into the conversation. Purpose drives commitment, wherever people work from.

3.       Reflect and adapt. Hybrid isn’t one-size-fits-all. Your operations team may need regular overlapping days in the office, while your product or sales teams might benefit from occasional creative retreat days. Keep checking in on what’s working and what’s not.

4.       Communicate like you mean it. Hybrid can magnify gaps in communication. In travel, where flight schedules, customer demands, and market conditions change fast, clear, regular updates are vital. Set expectations, share wins, and keep channels open for rapid coordination.

5.       Support the whole person. Beyond the job description, people have personal lives that matter. It’s tough for travel to offer flexibility around peak travel seasons, school holidays, and personal needs and required careful and creative consideration. Provide career development pathways for remote colleagues and digitise your regular check-in process (for the perfect example of how to make this happen well, see Best Workplaces In Travel’s tech partner Korero). Also train managers to spot early signs of burnout, especially for those working largely from home.

The Bottom line:

Hybrid is now embedded in the UK workplace, and in travel it can be a powerful asset, though only if it’s executed with intent. Keep people connected, especially those just starting out, and you’ll not only retain talent, but you’ll also be more likely to deliver the kind of customer experience that keeps travel clients coming back.

#hybridworking #flexibleworking #worklifebalance #lifeworkbalance #burnout #workfromhome #workfromanywhere