It would be best if you had a vacation.

No, not one of these Frankencations, where you cobble a few sick days together with a weekend and pretend it’s the real deal.

I mean a real vacation—one week, two weeks — maybe even a European-style getaway for a whole month.

Or maybe more.

According to the latest Expedia numbers, Americans take the fewest vacations. On average, we get just 12 days off work a year, and 53 per cent of Americans use all their vacation days. Expedia noted that 65 per cent of respondents feel they don’t take enough time off, which is the highest rate in 11 years.

Wait, you call that a vacation?

It’s no surprise that travel is becoming a less satisfying experience. Tourists check into their hotels and spend the rest of their few days off running around, trying to make the most of their precious few days off. That’s not what most people have in mind when they think of a vacation.

“Travelers are looking for ways to truly immerse themselves,” says Alex Chatzieleftheriou, CEO of Blueground, an operator of flexible furnished apartments.

How do you do that? You can extend your next vacation, and your timing may be perfect. Not only is this the right moment to consider your summer vacation, but with slow travel shaping up as one of the significant trends in 2025, you might consider a more extended vacation.

“Folks are moving away from shorter stints and toward extended stays in a particular city or state,” says Bill Smith, CEO of Landing, a company that offers memberships that allow travellers to rent furnished apartments. He says slow travel could be a big trend for vacation-deprived Americans in 2025.

Times are changing

Robert Li, director of Temple University’s U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism & Hospitality Research, says Americans are becoming more comfortable with extended vacations. He’s researched America’s vacation deficit, which he blames on a perception that employees who take time off are less hardworking and committed.

However, the pandemic may have sparked a cultural shift, with employee well-being becoming an increasing priority.

“Ideally, this shift will be accompanied by policy changes at the national level to support paid leave and work-life balance better,” he says.

While on assignment in Scandinavia this summer, I was curious about America’s vacation deficit. Vacations there are like a religion. You get about a month off, and people take the entire month off.

I also noticed an unspoken cushion of a few days before and after a long vacation when people are tiptoeing around you. “I’m about to go on vacation,” or “I’m just getting back from vacation” gives you leeway to be late for an appointment or to cancel a meeting altogether. So, in effect, they’re getting a month plus a few days of reduced work. And it’s okay.

That’s seven weeks of vacation. Now you’re talkin’!

Here are a few strategies for stretching your vacation time

But how do you stretch your vacation next year? Here are a few pro tips:

• Combine holidays like a pro for extra vacation time. Most people try to extend their vacation the wrong way. They focus on one holiday — like Memorial Day or the Fourth of July — and take a day before and after off. But Henri Chelhot, CEO of FlightHub, says a more effective way is to bookend it with other public holidays. “Try combining public holidays such as Christmas and New Year’s Day,” he says. Also, try looking outside the United States, to places where you’re unlikely to find other holiday travellers, like the Middle East. I mean, who doesn’t love shopping in Dubai?

• Try a workcation or sabbatical. “With more people recognizing that they have a vacation deficit, there’s growing interest in extended workcations and work-from-anywhere roles,” says Toni Frana, a lead career expert at FlexJobs. A workcation is precisely what it sounds like — staying in a remote area but still doing some work. Frana says workcations can allow you to work from anywhere but still get a change of scenery that you can’t get from the great American micro-vacation. Many employers now allow their workers to do their jobs remotely. They also have more generous sabbatical policies, allowing you to take more time off work.

• Don’t be afraid of a commitment. One of the big obstacles to an extended getaway is lodging. You must find practical and affordable accommodations if you extend your stay beyond a month. And that’s hard in some places where short-term rentals are a hit-or-miss proposition. If you can commit to a month, you can use a platform like Blueground, which has apartments in 48 cities worldwide, or Landing, which has a strong presence in the United States. Airbnb also offers lower rates for monthly rentals.  “When planning an extended stay, it’s important to define your priorities,” says Chatzieleftheriou, Blueground’s CEO. “Do you prefer a central location, a quiet neighbourhood, or proximity to public transport?”

How do you extend your vacation?

But how do you do it? Richard Campbell and his wife decided they wanted more vacation time after spending a few days hiking through the Rocky Mountains this summer. He says he loved Colorado, but after four years of going to the same place, “we wanted something new.”

Campbell plans to spend all of next summer in Europe. As the founder of a travel booking site, he can take his work with him. He’s a lucky guy.

“We will spend our time across four cities in France and Italy over two months, with a one-week holiday in the middle and another holiday at the end,” he says. “What really excites us is that rather than doing yard work or scrolling on our phones, every evening and weekend will feel like we’re on vacation, exploring a new town, trying new foods, and just enjoying a new place.”

The Campbells can stay in Europe for three months without a visa, so that’s the plan.

Maybe the key to a genuinely satisfying vacation in 2025 is simple: more of it. Whether you opt for a European-style, month-long escape or a strategic combination of vacations and work, it’s clear that more and more travellers are skipping microcations and going for more extended stays.

 

 

 

Written by: Christopher Elliott

 

 

BIO:
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes a travel newsletter and the Elliott Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can reach him here or email him at [email protected].

 

 

 

 

 

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