Hilton Hotels #vacationitis sweepstakes for two free nights

November 18-22 is ‘International Use It or Lose It Week’ holiday campaign from Hilton Hotels that encourages working professionals everywhere to use their hard-earned vacation days and enjoy leisure time with friends and family this holiday season.

Hilton Hotels has a #vacationitis sweepstakes where 15 winners will receive two “Be My Guest’ free night certificates good for any Hilton Hotels & Resorts property worldwide. ARV = $380 USD.

Sweepstakes is open to residents of:

1. USA
2. Canada
3. China,
4. Costa Rica,
5. Fiji,
6. Germany,
7. Guam,
8. India,
9. Ireland,
10. Japan,
11. Malaysia,
12. Maldives,
13. Mexico,
14. New Zealand,
15. South Korea,
16. U.K.

PROMOTION PERIOD: The Promotion begins on November 18, 2013 at 12:00:01 a.m. EST, and ends on December 31, 2013 at 11:59:59 p.m. EST

Limit one (1) entry per person and per e-mail address.

DRAWING AND WINNER NOTIFICATION: The winners of the Promotion will be randomly selected from all eligible entries received throughout the Promotion Period. The random drawing will be conducted on or about January 2, 2014.

PRIZES/ODDS: The following prizes are available:

Fifteen (15) total winners each receive two (2) Be My Guest Certificates. Each Be My Guest Certificate is valid for one night of free lodging (one (1) standard room and corresponding taxes) at any Hilton Hotels & Resorts property worldwide, will be provided to the winner from on dates to be determined by Sponsor. Certificate is valid for one year from date of issuance.

Worker vacation statistics blow my mind.

• 4.5 million people in the UK are losing more than six days of annual leave each year, due to reasons including being worried about losing their job or looking bad in front of their boss. One in 20 even admitted they take just half of the time off they are entitled to, saying that using every day of their annual leave is frowned upon in their workplace. (Hilton survey)
• Expedia also did a vacation survey and results say Americans get an average 14 vacation days per year and four days go unused. Unused vacation days in Expedia’s 13th annual survey increased from just two unused days in last year’s survey.

Why are vacation days going unused?

• Some 25% say they like to stockpile days for possible trips in the future.
• Other reasons include difficulty of scheduling vacations (22%),
• getting paid for unused days (18%),
• worry they can’t afford a vacation (16%) and
• failure to plan (15%).
• Japan and South Korea have the most vacation-deprived workers.
  • South Koreans take 7 out of 10 vacation days.
  • Japanese workers take 7 out of 18 vacation days.
• Worldwide, workers get an average of 20 vacation days annually.
• France leads the world with 30 vacation days annually, yet 90% of French state they are vacation deprived.

As a former elementary school teacher in California, my vacation days typically amounted to about 80 days over the year with one week off for Thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas/New Year’s, one week in February and one week at Easter. That is five weeks off followed by another six or seven weeks between school years from June to August. The 75 to 85 days a year of vacation was a primary motivator for me to become a school teacher.

While nearly three months of vacation is a major benefit of teaching, most teachers will tell you it takes about that much vacation time to get the deafening sound of children’s shrill voices to stop ringing in your ears.

Most public school teachers quit within five years. I lasted ten years. My wife is in her 19th year.

Even though I kind of live my life on full-time vacation these days, Hilton wrote me a prescription based on my sweepstakes entry responses:

I stayed at the Hilton SFO Bayfront hotel property numerous times before it rebranded to Hilton when it was a Sheraton over the past decade and even when it was a Crowne Plaza over 20 years ago. I enjoy the Bay Trail recreation path along the waterfront south of SFO.

My goal next week is to get my wife up to San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods National Monument and not use all her vacation time during Thanksgiving week eating Dungeness crab. This is the first week of the typically less than 8 weeks of fresh off the boat crab season in California.

Hilton Vacationitis Sweepstakes

*****

Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.

Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests.

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