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This week in Opportunities:

34% of American Workers Will Not Use All Their Earned Vacation Days
Opportunities Watch!
Opportunities Networking!
Executive Movers! See who's going where?
Travel Executive Employment Report

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OPPORTUNITIES NEWS & TRENDS

34% of American Workers Will Not Use All Their Earned Vacation Days

Expedia.com recently announced the results of its ninth annual Vacation Deprivation survey, revealing that 49.4MM Americans (approximately 34 percent of employed U.S. adults), citing work-related pressure as a contributing factor, will not use all of their earned vacation days in 2009. Again this year, Americans will give back an average of three vacation days each. Even though a vast majority (89 percent) of employed U.S. adults believes they are entitled to all earned vacation days, the number of workers who will not use all of those earned days increased from 31 percent in 2008 to 34 percent in 2009. Additionally, the 2009 Expedia Vacation Deprivation survey revealed that Americans continue to receive fewer vacation days than their international counterparts.

Although Americans see value in taking vacation time, fewer this year said that they feel better about their job and more productive upon returning from vacation than last year (34 percent in 2009 vs. 39 percent in 2008). Additionally, nearly one-third of Americans (30 percent) admitted they have trouble coping with stress from work during the vacation cycle. As work responsibilities continue to deter workers from taking time off, fewer Americans felt that their employer encourages them to use all earned vacation days (61 percent in 2009 vs. 67 percent in 2008). Workers are also taking fewer extended vacations, with the number of adults who plan to take a two-week vacation declining from 14 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2009. Another potential sign of the times, eight percent of adults included the possibility of missing an important meeting or an important decision at work as a potential reason for not using all vacation days, up from just five percent who cited that reason last year.

Additional Findings Regarding U.S. Vacation Habits

• On average, Americans reported receiving 13 vacation days in 2009, one day less than the previous three years.
• Women are more likely than men to feel guilty about taking time off from work (40 percent of women vs. 29 percent of men).
• Approximately 39 percent of working Americans plan on using the majority of their vacation time in 2009 by taking at least one full week of vacation and spreading out remaining days.
• More than half (58 percent) of Americans plan to travel by car in 2009 while 30 percent plan to travel by plane.
• Although some Americans sacrifice vacation time for work, 87 percent reported that certain activities help them feel as though they are truly away from work. Top activities mentioned include: traveling to another state/country (59 percent); enjoying good food and/or drinks prepared and served by someone else (50 percent); trying new activities and foods (44 percent); and participating in outdoor activities (43 percent).

In addition to looking at the U.S., the 2009 Expedia Vacation Deprivation survey polled the vacation habits of employed workers in Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Australia, Japan, and for the first time, New Zealand. This year, workers in Canada, France and Australia will receive between one and two more vacation days than in 2008, while all other countries will either receive fewer vacation days or see no change in earned time off. Employed adults in France will receive and take the most vacation days of all countries surveyed, with workers receiving 38 days and leaving only two days unused. Even though working Americans receive the smallest number of vacation days, workers in Japan leave are the least vacation-minded, as 92 percent of workers said they would not use all vacation days and will leave an average of seven days on the table.

For complete survey results visit www.vacationdeprivation.com.

OPPORTUNITIES WATCH!

Carlson Hotels Worldwide Signs 23 New Properties in the First Quarter of 2009

Carlson Hotels Worldwide has announced that it has signed franchise or management agreements for 23 new properties in the first quarter of 2009. The new hotels and resorts span 14 countries, including 10 Radisson and Radisson Blu properties; six Country Inns & Suites By Carlson properties; and seven Park Inn locations. The company also announced 16 new hotel openings since the start of 2009, adding locations in Germany, France, India, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Brazil, the Czech Republic and the United States. Carlson's worldwide portfolio currently totals 1,015 hotels with more than 151,000 rooms in 72 countries. Carlson hotel brands also include Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Regent Hotels & Resorts. "Although the economic downturn has impacted our industry, Carlson Hotels Worldwide brands continue to generate strong activity in 2009 with 23 development agreements signed for future properties and 16 new hotels added to our portfolio," said Jay Witzel, president and CEO of Carlson Hotels Worldwide. "Other significant global news during the first quarter of 2009 included the name change of Radisson hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa from Radisson SAS to Radisson Blu. These properties are operated by The Rezidor Hotel Group."

OPPORTUNITIES NETWORKING!

Hotel Industry Leaders to Discuss Impact of Economy and Offer Strategies for 2010

BusinessTravelConnexion.com, an online community that harnesses the collective intelligence of the business travel industry, will offer unique access to leaders of Hilton Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, Omni Hotels, and WORLDHOTELS through a Live Event on April 30th at 2:00pm EDT. Hosted by American Express Business Travel, senior hotel industry executives will discuss the impact of the current economic environment on the hotel industry and offer their insights on the best methods to support buyers and sellers while navigating the changing hotel industry landscape. This Live Audio Event is the third in a series of live events providing unique access to senior business leaders and industry experts across the business travel industry. Please note that in order to participate, individuals must be members of the Business Travel ConneXion community. Registration takes about 5 minutes, but it is recommended that unregistered individuals visit the site at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the event to create a profile and avoid any delays. For more information visit www.BusinessTravelConneXion.com.

OPPORTUNITIES EXECUTIVE MOVERS!

AIRLINES: JetBlue Airways has announced the promotion of Rob Maruster to Chief Operating Officer effective June 1, 2009, concurrent with the transition of current President and Chief Operating Officer Russ Chew to the role of Senior Advisor. JetBlue's Chief Executive Officer, Dave Barger, will assume the duties and title of President, also effective June 1, 2009. Maruster joined JetBlue in 2005 as Vice President, Operations Planning, after a 12-year career with Delta Air Lines in a variety of increasingly responsible leadership positions in the carrier's Marketing and Customer Service departments; culminating in Vice President Airport Customer Service at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In 2006, Maruster was promoted to Senior Vice President, Airports and Operational Planning. In 2008, Maruster's responsibilities expanded to include the Customer Services group, including Inflight Service, Reservations and System Operations. He graduated with a BA degree in Political Science from Auburn University, and has earned his MBA from Emory University... UAL Corporation, the holding company whose primary subsidiary is United Airlines, has announced that R. Douglas (Doug) Rose has been named vice president-Human Resources, Total Rewards. In this position, Rose will oversee the strategy, design and administration of all United's health, welfare and retirement benefit programs for all employees, as well as the company's incentive plans. He will also be responsible for managing the development and implementation of compensation programs for salaried and management employees, as well as work/life programs designed to create a more high-performance culture. Rose joins United from Capital One Financial Corporation, where he most recently served as senior vice president of Human Resources. Responsible for the global compensation and benefits function of this Fortune 200 diversified financial services company, during his tenure at Capital One he also created its market-leading health plan, led the company's performance management and career development processes and developed a number of self-service technologies and tools related to compensation and benefits. Prior to Capital One, Rose served as a senior consultant and practice leader with Hewitt Associates, a leading Human Resources consulting firm with a number of Fortune 500 clients. During his six years with Hewitt, he led segments of the organization's consulting practice in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area marketplace, consulting with a number of organizations on executive and broad-based total compensation strategies. Rose has also worked with The Hay Group, a compensation consulting firm in New Jersey, as well as with International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, where he held several Human Resources leadership positions. Rose holds a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's of business administration from the University of Michigan. He will assume his role with United on May 4 and will report to Ugol. He will be based at United's headquarters in downtown Chicago.

HOTELS & RESORTS: Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has announced the promotion of Kevin F. Catrambone to General Manager for the Hampton Inn Parsippany. Catrambone was previously the Director of Operations for the Hilton Parsippany. Prior to joining Crestline he was the Assistant General Manager at The Estate at Florentine Gardens in Vale, NJ. He began his hospitality career more than 20 years ago in the restaurant industry and then moved into hospitality operations. Catrambone holds a B.S. from East Stroudsburg University, PA in Hotel, Restaurant, Hospitality and Tourism. In addition he has many industry certifications and speaks conversational Spanish...

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: Kayak.com has announced the appointment of Robert Birge as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Birge will manage all offline marketing, advertising and public relations activities, including the planned launch of a major offline advertising campaign. Birge will report to Kayak.com Co-Founder and CEO Steve Hafner and will be based at the company's global headquarters in Norwalk, Conn. Birge brings nearly 20 years of advertising, marketing and brand building experience across a range of categories including online travel, wireless, consumer goods, beverages and financial services. He was most recently the CMO for IMG Worldwide, the world's leading sports, entertainment and media company. As the first CMO in IMG's history, Birge was responsible for global brand management, advertising and strategic marketing initiatives for all of IMG's global business units. Prior to joining IMG in 2006, he was Managing Director of TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York. Prior to that, he was a member of Boston Consulting Group's consumer marketing and e-commerce practice, where he was part of the team that built and launched Orbitz. He was responsible for the initial branding and marketing planning during the first year of building Orbitz. Birge earned his MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his AB at Dartmouth College.

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