DENVER, August 27, 2012 - Where you live may impact how many vacations you take, according to new research released today by private destination club Inspirato. Among America's 10 largest cities, residents of Washington, D.C., were the most likely to take a vacation over the last five years while residents of Chicago were the least likely.

The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Inspirato and polled 2,534 respondents 18 years or older in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washingto

According to the survey, for all but one year (2009) between 2008 and 2012, the percentage of Washington D.C. residents taking a vacation was significantly higher than the 10-city average, as well as compared to several other cities. Meanwhile, in each year studied, the percentage of Chicagoans taking a vacation was significantly lower than that of several other cities, as well as the average.

In 2012 alone, residents of Atlanta and Washington, D.C. are significantly more likely to have taken or plan to take a vacation, compared to those in several other cities. Conversely,Chicagoans and Philadelphians are significantly less likely than those in several other cities to be taking a vacation this year. Among all 10 cities, the percentage of people taking a vacation in 2012 is lower than in prior years.

The poll also looked at how much vacation time workers in each of the 10 cities receive from their employers and, of that, how much they use. Overall, in each city, at least 8 in 10 employees get some vacation time from their employer. Of those that do receive vacation, the mean number of days range from a low of 17.6 in New York to a high of 22.1 in Atlanta. Twelve percent to 19 percent of workers get no vacation days at all.

In all cities except Boston and Philadelphia, the majority of employees do not use all of their allotted vacation time. Compared to other cities, Boston workers in particular are significantly less likely to have any unused vacation time (only 37 percent of workers leave any vacation time on the table) and also leave a significantly lower proportion of their vacation days unused (16 percent of their vacation days go unused). Meanwhile, San Francisco workers are the most hesitant to take all their earned vacation time. Sixty-nine percent of San Francisco workers have unused vacation time and, on average, leave 32 percent of their total vacation days on the table, second only to Los Angeles workers who let 35 percent of their total vacation time go unused. 

A complete ranking of all 10 cities surveyed is below.  The ranking is based on the five-year average, 2008-2012, of the percentage of residents who have taken a vacation each year.

1.  Washington, DC - 73%

2.  San Francisco - 70%

3.  Boston - 68%

4.  Atlanta - 67%

5.  Houston - 66%

6.  New York City/Los Angeles - 64% (tie)

8.  Dallas-Fort Worth - 61%

9.  Philadelphia - 57%

10. Chicago - 55%

Overall 10-city five-year average - 64%

Methodology

This study was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Inspirato between June 14-21, 2012 among 2,534 respondents 18 years or older in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available. Data tables can be found at: http://www.inspirato.com/VacationsByCity.

 

About Inspirato 

Designed specifically for a new generation of luxury consumers, Inspirato (In - spuh - rah - toh) offers the best of destination club consistency and service, together with unmatched value, flexibility and low-cost membership. Our members have access to an ever-growing portfolio of luxury vacation homes in the world's top destinations, including California, the Caribbean, Colorado, France, Hawaii, Italy, London, Mexico, New York City and more. By leasing vacation properties (rather than owning), Inspirato is able to keep membership fees low, offer up to 50 percent off market rates, and easily add homes and destinations as demand increases. Our innovative business model has led to rapid growth since our January 2011 launch, placing Inspirato at the forefront of the "luxury for less" movement.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll^® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's research investment. Serving clients in more than 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

 

 

 

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