Expedia.com Survey Reveals that American Workers Are Estimated to Leave More Than 421 Million Vacation Days On The Table in 2005

Americans Fall Far Behind Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands When It Comes to Taking a Vacation

BELLEVUE, Wash - May 17, 2005 - Expedia.com®, the world's leading online travel service, recently commissioned its fifth annual "Vacation Deprivation" survey, conducted by Harris Interactive®, and uncovered that Americans1 are likely to give back more than 421 million vacation days in 20052, with each employed U.S. adult anticipated to leave an average of three vacation days on the table this year. In fact, nearly a third (31 percent) of Americans reported that they do not always take all of their vacation days, despite almost half (48 percent) admitting that they come back from a vacation feeling rested, rejuvenated and reconnected in their personal life.

"Americans' state of Vacation Deprivation is unfortunately becoming a disturbing trend - one with a definite price tag," says Kari Swartz, Expedia.com product manager for leisure travel. "This year alone, the value of the vacation days that Americans are projected to give back is estimated at almost $54 billion3."

This year for the first time, Expedia® expanded its popular survey internationally and reached out to the working populations of Canada4, France, Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands to uncover how they utilized their vacations. Compared to other countries included in the survey, Americans' vacation attitudes and habits definitely stood out as an anomaly. For example, U.S. workers received the least amount of vacation days (12 on average), were most likely to work over 40 hours a week (35 percent), and tied with Canada for giving back the most vacation days per person (3 days on average). This paints a very bleak picture that hopefully will inspire Americans to adopt the more healthy vacation habits demonstrated by the other countries included in the survey:

  • France wins the distinction for being the vacation champions, with each employed adult receiving an average of 39 days and with nearly half (45 percent) taking at least one 3-4 week vacation a year.
  • German workers are vacation lovers too, receiving an average of 27 vacation days, with 56 percent reporting that they always take all of their vacation days.
  • Employed workers in the Netherlands receive an average of 25 vacation days each year, with the majority (62 percent) planning on taking at least one vacation lasting up to two full weeks.
  • Adults employed in Great Britain may receive the least amount of vacation days in the European countries surveyed (23 days), but they definitely appreciate each and every vacation day…and then some, with 40 percent saying that they'd sacrifice a day's pay to get an extra day off.
  • Employed Canadian adults receive an average of 20 days of vacation - easily beating out their neighbors to the South. And more than half (54 percent) use all of their vacation days.

So, when Americans do get around to vacationing, what do they do? According to the survey, it's all about the family: Almost a third (31 percent) say that they spend most of their vacation time traveling with their immediate family and 27 percent say that they visit out of town family and relatives. Plus, 38 percent of U.S. adults anticipate using the majority of their vacation time for 2005 by taking one full week and then using the remaining days throughout the year.

Expedia.com believes that everyone deserves a great vacation. Regardless of the number of vacation days Americans receive or how they want to take them, Expedia is a vacation resource that connects travelers with great selection and prices for all of their travel needs. In fact, Expedia just launched a new vacation package promotion that offers an additional $100 off of flight+hotel vacation packages booked before May 25. The $100 instant coupon applies to stays of 3-nights or more in over 250 cities served by American Airlines® and is valid for travel between June 1 and December 31, 2005. You'll find great vacation package deals, including 3 nights + air to San Francisco from $4185, to New York from $3926, to London from $7017 and to Cancun from $6238. For vacation inspiration, information on how to utilize the coupon, and terms and conditions, please visit www.expedia.com/save100.

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel service and the fourth largest travel agency in the U.S. Expedia's award-winning Expert Searching and Pricing (ESP) technology delivers the most comprehensive flight options available online. ESP also allows customers to dynamically build complete trips that combine flights, Expedia® Special Rate hotels and other lodging, ground transportation, and destination services and activities. Expedia's quality and leadership have been recognized in awards such as PC Magazine's "Editors' Choice" and Forbes' "Favorite General Travel Site." For great selection and pricing, travelers should visit www.expedia.com. Expedia is an operating company of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI). CST: 2029030-40

For more information, press only:

For Expedia: Katie Deines, 425.679.4317 or press@expedia.com

Related Links

www.expedia.com/save100
www.expedia.com
  1. The term "Americans" refers to employed U.S. adults aged 18 and over within this announcement.
  2. Calculated by taking the average of 3 vacation days left on the table per 140.5 million employed Americans, as provided by the Bureau of Labor & Statistics.
  3. Calculated by taking 421.5 million vacation days left on the table times an average daily wage of $127.60, as provided by the Bureau of Labor & Statistics.
  4. Canadian survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid. All other surveys conducted by Harris Interactive.
  5. Package pricing includes the $100 savings and all taxes & fees; departure from NYC.
  6. Package pricing includes the $100 savings and all taxes & fees; departure from Chicago.
  7. Package pricing includes the $100 savings and all taxes & fees; departure from NYC.
  8. Package pricing includes the $100 savings and all taxes & fees; departure from Chicago.

Expedia, Expedia.com, and the airplane logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the United States, Canada and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Survey Methodology

Harris Interactive® fielded the online survey on behalf of Expedia.com between April 15 and 19, 2005 among nationwide cross-sections of 2,130 adults aged 18+ in the United States, 2,124 adults aged 16+ in Great Britain, 2,236 adults aged 16+ in France, 2,236 adults aged 16+ in Germany, and 1,200 adults aged 16-64 in the Netherlands. The European data were weighted to be representative of the total adult populations of each country on the basis of region, age, sex, education, income and propensity to be online. The U.S. data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity and propensity to be online.

Though this online sample is not a probability sample, in theory, with probability samples of this size, Harris Interactive estimates with 95 percent certainty that the results for the English, French and German samples have a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points and sampling error for the U.S. and Dutch samples is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Sampling error for the following sub-sample results: U.S. employed adults (1,329), British employed adults (1,297), French employed adults (1,320), German employed adults (1,467), and Dutch employed adults (1,000) is higher and varies.

Note: The Canadian data referenced in this release were not gathered by Harris Interactive Inc.

Coupon Terms & Conditions:

  1. When you are ready to redeem your coupon click the vacation packages tab or use the package wizard on the previous page to select your vacation package. Packages must include at least one (1) American Airlines non-refundable plane ticket along with a hotel reservation for at least three (3) nights. Click "Choose and Continue." On the vacation package summary page, step 2 will ask for the coupon redemption code. Enter the code SAVE100 and you are then able to redeem your discount. You may be asked to sign in.
  2. Coupon must be used on Expedia.com by 11:59 PM (Pacific Time) on May 25, 2005, for travel between June 1 and December 31, 2005. Travel must be completed by December 31, 2005. The flight portion of the package must be provided by American Airlines and must be non-refundable.
  3. Limit: one (1) coupon per person.
  4. This offer is from Expedia.com® and is available to Expedia.com U.S. members only.
  5. Flight+hotel vacation package reservations are subject to availability.
  6. Coupon may not be combined with or applied to other coupons, promotions or special offers.
  7. All taxes, fees, charges, and surcharges applicable to the booking, including, without limitation, extra person charges, parking fees, phone and other charges to the room and incidentals, are applicable to your reservation, and this coupon cannot be applied to them. These charges must be paid at the time of reservation or to the hotel directly, and they are the responsibility solely of the customer.
  8. Please check vacation package Terms and Conditions for more information on air+hotel trip reservation and cancellation policies. Coupon cannot be applied to the cost of penalties, prepaid reservations, administrative fees, or other miscellaneous charges.
  9. Coupon will be deemed fully used once a qualifying reservation has been made, and will not be returned or replaced, even in the event that the reservation is cancelled. If travel dates are changed after the use of coupon, then the coupon will not apply to the changed travel schedule.
  10. Terms and conditions of this offer are as written and cannot be changed by any representation of any unauthorized person, including employees of Expedia, Inc.
  11. Coupon is non-transferable and is not redeemable for cash.
  12. Void where prohibited by law.
  13. Coupon cash value 1/100¢.
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