“Vacation deprivation is at an all-time high,” says Sally McKenzie, vice president and general manager of the online vacation website Expedia.com. Harris Interactive and Ipsos were hired by Expedia to study U.S. vacation trends. Ms. Mckenzie continues, “there are incredible health and wellness benefits associated with time off from work.” It looks like Americans will be missing out on all the fun this year.What were the findings? U.S. employees this year will likely forfeit more than 574 million vacation days. That is an extra 150 million vacation days forfeited this year over 2005 levels or about 4 vacation days that go unused per employee.Why don’t Americans learn from foreign employees and enjoy the vacation days they have earned?There are many reasons. One of them is still our upbringing with the Puritan work ethic. Our country was founded on hard work and long hours. Taking days off is still looked upon by many employers as being slothful, lazy, and not being productive. With the downsizing that has been going on in corporate America, employees are nervously looking over their shoulders wanting to make sure they give no one any excuse to replace them. They all want to look like team players.Gasoline prices are out of sight. With some working families having to pay an extra $1500 to $2000/year for gasoline, right there their summer vacation has gone up in gas fumes.The Federal Reserve increasing interest rates is hurting vacationers. It is estimated that in 2005, almost 40% of mortgages were the exotic kinds with adjustable rates, zero interest, etc. With the Federal Reserve having raised interest rates for almost 20 quarters in a row, many families are seeing their mortgage payments jumping from an extra few hundred a month, to in some case over an extra $1000 per month. For some families it is a choice of wanting to keep the roof over their heads. Vacation time has gone out the window.A final reason Americans are not taking more vacation time is vacation resorts and destinations are not exciting people into wanting to take days off of work.A lodging magazine survey showed that the typical resort, averages around a 15% repeat guest rate. “That is a horrible number,” says Tom Mulhall, past president of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce. “That means the typical resort and resort destination is doing something to turn off 85% of its guests. We pride ourselves on averaging just over a 75% repeat guest rate ourselves.”Tom and his wife Mary Clare own The Terra Cotta Inn Clothing Optional Resort and Spa in Palm Springs, CA http://sunnyfun.com and Tom feels that today’s cookie cutter chain hotels are more interested in maximizing the revenue from a guest instead of a guest getting to maximize their fun. Chains need to understand that guests have to have a great experience at a resort and at a destination. When guests feel like they have to “watch their wallet” every time they walk into a lobby, they start to resent it. And charging hidden “resort fees, and outlandish parking rates” has probably cost more resorts lost repeat guest then anything else. Until chains understand that, repeat guest rates will still suffer.Tom concludes by saying,”last week, one of my guests told me he had accumulated over 50 vacation days at work. I asked him why he did not take more travel time. He said, outside of the 2 week vacation he spends with us each year, no other vacation resorts excite him and his wife. ‘I don’t want to waste my vacation time at some mediocre place,’ said the guest. ‘We did that when we were younger. Now I would rather save vacation days to cash out at retirement instead of using them now.’” Chilling words for the travel industry.This year it looks like travel destinations and resorts are going to have to work harder than ever to recapture the vacation time and hearts of the American traveler.

Real estate investment has always been an attractive avenue to make money and achieve financial independence, that would eliminate the need to worry about financial down times – like the kind we’re currently faced with.Unless you’ve been living on a remote, uninhabited island or planet, you no doubt feel the effects of the recession that has challenged the income earning ability of even the most prosperous persons, groups/organizations as well as nations.Those who survive and/or thrive in spite of all the uncertainty and adversity, do so by adopting serious strategies to build and consolidate their abilities to make money especially in lucrative fields like real estate investing.The problem has however often been that most people in society, despite being aware of potential benefits of real estate investing, lack the competence to cost-effectively and profitably venture into this line of business.Many who dared to go in without getting reliable information and education to guide them, have had their fingers burnt – becoming victims of a few bad eggs who lure unsuspecting enthusiasts into phony property investment deals.As a Real Estate solutions provider, I’ve seen this happen for quite some time, and my desire to help potential buyers avoid such painful negative experiences makes me ALWAYS focus on FIRST educating them on the proper way or process of investing, into real estate.I arm them with details of how to confirm the status of the land or building, and relevant documents to possess, whilst securing their investment into the future.For instance, I get asked certain questions about real estate solutions I offer quite often by different prospective clients. These same questions are posed to others who do what I do, in the industry – including the crooked ones looking to cheat – or even dupe – their clients.In my case, I have developed the discipline over the years of stating the truth to each client regardless of whether or not it could lead to a loss of sale.In the short run, this may seem to be self-defeating, however, in the long run, as my experiences have repeatedly proven, it can pay huge dividends in form of powerful name/brand credibility due to your demonstrated integrity.Here’s one example of answers I give to questions I get commonly asked by intending buyers:Question: Distance (Isn’t that property too far away from town?)Answer: Distance does not really matter, when it comes to making money. For instance, most of us leave our various home towns to do businesses in Lagos. Why? Because of the value and monetary benefits we expect to get. Some of us own properties outside Nigeria – so acquiring a few here in Nigeria’s new Lagos, which is currently attracting countless foreign investors, with its huge potentials and wealth, can only make MORE sense!Notice from the above that my answer was given using points that were obvious and therefore easy to agree with. In other words, they were based on verifiable facts, and devoid of sentiment or hype.It is this sincere disposition that attracts potential buyers to connect with me, long after I’ve related with them.Example True StorySome years ago, the London based director of social responsibility to a top decision maker in the securities exchange commission (SEC) was referred me by an old client.We had a serious phone conversation here in Nigeria, and she eventually came for inspection and bought 2 acres (12 plots).As I type these words, those plots remain secure in our estate Dominion Gardens and Parks and have since appreciated greatly in value, as you can imagine.For that buyer, who today owns those plots, there is no doubt that she has reaped multiple fold returns on that investment made a few short years ago.Yet, all it took was the ability to make an accurate and well informed DECISION to choose and buy the right kind of property in the right location, from the right source.The best way to achieve the above mix of favorable circumstances (i.e. the “right” everything you need!) is to connect with a tried, tested and true provider of the solutions you need.The client who referred this lady to me did so based on the recollection of the fact that I delivered what I promised i.e.landed property at pocket friendly prices, with valid documentation and no complications.Your future financial independence can be secured via smart investment in real estate.But you need to start by giving yourself the right kind of information and education to be able to do it right.Make out time to identify a reliable expert who can coach you to succeed in achieving your chosen objective.Do that FIRST, before you ever consider dipping your hand into your pocket to pay for any property.