Emergency care for overstressed workers features humor by creative services division of The Onion, self diagnosis, prescriptions and chances to win.

Vacationitis is creating high levels of stress and claiming countless hours of unused vacation time as it spreads among workers incapable of taking long- or short-term breaks, Hilton Hotels & Resorts reports today. The flagship brand of Hilton Worldwide is activating its Hilton Urgent Vacation Care Center, an interactive website featuring personal diagnoses of vacation needs and customized prescriptions urging people to take breaks, weekend getaways and longer vacations.

Workers are advised to seek aid immediately if they show signs of 14 distinct symptoms of Vacationitis, including "Straight to Voicemailaria," a chronic avoidance of client calls, or "Replyallgia," the result of a flood of "reply all" emails. Through February 28, Hilton is offering immediate relief by giving www.vacationcarecenter.hilton.com visitors a chance to win one of 15 Hilton weekend getaways*.

"We all know that quick breaks or long-haul vacations help working professionals feel recharged and refreshed, but in today's fast-paced work environment too many people are neglecting the time they need to unplug, recharge and relax," said Andrew Flack, vice president, global brand marketing, Hilton Hotels & Resorts. "The traditional work week and typical annual or seasonal vacations have evolved as people are working harder than ever before. We're helping our guests make vacations a priority and to maximize the value of their personal time."

Hilton Urgent Vacation Care Center is the latest undertaking by Hilton Hotels & Resorts to champion vacations and leisure travel while understanding the needs and expectations of travelers around the world. The brand's "2013 Hilton U.K. Vacation Deficit Report" released today of 2,000 workers in the U.K. finds that workers enjoy just eight out of their average 24 days of annual leave because the rest of the time is taken up with "domestic admin." Findings also reveal that more than half of the British workforce have not taken a holiday in at least a year, more than half continue to check work emails and take calls while on annual leave, and 5 percent have not had a holiday in 10 years or more.

To build public awareness of Vacationitis, Onion Labs, the creative services division of leading American news satire organization The Onion, is depicting common symptoms through humorous cartoon memes created exclusively for Hilton. Visitors to vacationcarecenter.hilton.com can download the memes and easily share them with friends they suspect may suffer from Vacationitis.

"Some of our most popular satirical editorial content in The Onion surrounds the workplace and everyday stresses, so it's been exciting to work with Hilton Hotels & Resorts to illustrate diagnoses of vacation blues around the world," said Grant Jones, partner, Onion Labs. "The cartoon memes aim to inspire workers to fill their 'prescriptions' with a much-needed break from the office."



Video Link: www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ELRfUd4snak 

Hilton Urgent Vacation Care Center also features a Global Vacation Alert Level, a real-time interactive map showing varying vacation need levels by country based on collective personal diagnoses completed through the site. Other components include a recovery room dedicated to special travel offers, an overview of leisure-related survey results spanning from 1989 to the present and the latest leisure news from Hilton.