The US is the only advanced economy with no guaranteed minimum vacation time, with one in four working Americans having no paid time off at all;

As part of the Vacation Equality Project, Hotels.com is asking Americans to visit VacationEqualityProject.com, where visitors can learn about the issue, watch a short video and find out how to support the initiative.

Americans can do their part by signing a petition on the "We the People" website that asks the White House to take a position on guaranteed paid vacation time. The White House will review the petition and issue an official response if the petition reaches 100,000 signatures by August 15, 2014.

"We are a strong believer in the power of vacation and we hope that the Vacation Equality Project will help increase awareness of this issue," said Johan Svanstrom, president of the Hotels.com brand. "The goal of the movement is to make paid vacation part of the national conversation and eventually get the White House and Congress engaged."

In a survey¹ also released today, Hotels.com found that an overwhelming majority of Americans were not aware that the U.S. is the only advanced economy that does not require paid vacation for working people.

The independent survey of 1,000 Americans nationwide conducted by GfK also shows that the majority of Americans polled favor guaranteed paid vacation time (57 percent) and would support a law requiring employers to provide paid vacation time (51 percent). Americans also believe that vacation time has enormous benefits—improved quality of life, a positive effect on health and wellness and makes them more productive at work.

In addition to the worker benefits of paid vacation time, research also shows that it has wide-ranging benefits for businesses and for the economy.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, paid vacation time is a boon to the U.S. economy, with about one in eight Americans having jobs associated with travel and tourism.

Research from USTA also finds that encouraging workers to use just one more day of earned leave each year could bring $73 billion annually to our economy.

To learn more about the Vacation Equality Project and how to sign the petition by August 15th, please visit VacationEqualityProject.com. You can also get in on the social conversation and share your views with #VacationEquality.

1 "No-Vacation Nation Revisited," Rebecca Ray, Milla Sains, John Schmitt. Center for Economic and Policy Research. May 2013. Page 3.

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