Vacation time is the new value

Good to read signs sometimes!

The new value is vacation time: "Take as much as you want" said Richard Branson to the Virgin Group employees. While you may think this is a revolutionary idea, Sir Richard himself pointed out that he got the idea from Netflix which has been doing this since 2003. Many more companies have been doing it in one form or another, including a few who have been doing it for more than fifty years! The implications for tourism are significant. If people change the way they think about vacations, they also change the way they plan for it and what they look forward to may be different than that of people on a more traditional annual schedule of two or three weeks vacation at the same time each year.

With impromptu scheduling and variable vacation time, the traditional time-frame of anticipation and planning goes out the window as it is no longer a yearly event scheduled months earlier. Duration also changes from the traditional vacation time to a mix of short breaks and much longer time away from work. Shorter booking lead times and the next day city breaks featured by some airlines in Europe fit perfectly for the fortunate ones.

Expectations also change with more dynamic planning and impromptu choices of activities. On the bright side, it feels more like vacation, than tightly planned and scheduled time-off. On the down side, access to some activities and attractions may be more limited on short notice. One can go to the local market at any time, but booking a boat for a scuba diving day usually requires a few days' notice. Even more so with famous or popular attractions where entrance tickets are limited. The good part of the trade-off is the flexibility to be able to grab a special on a slow day, or change your mind looking at the cloudy sky.

Take advantage of the changes in booking dynamics. Today, you can open Google Maps and see hotel rates right now, for tonight. Yes, there are times and places where supply is dry and you will pay over the odds, but on average there is almost always a bargain to grab right this minute. Make your vacation a real vacation doing what you like today, or not doing what you initially planned and just be lazy.

Three tips for impromptu vacations:

Shoulder season is the best time. It is the period between peak and off-peak season at your destination. The weather is good, the crowds are not there and hotel availability is excellent at fair prices.
Find the local restaurants. The ones without a menu in three languages, the ones where the resort employees like to go. There are always a few in tourist areas because the locals have to eat too!
Jewelry and watch: Don't! The jewelry is not only a risk, but it makes you look rich with consequences. It is not necessarily that you people will target you, but subconsciously, they will treat you differently, and not always in a good way. Leave the watch home, you are on vacation, and you have a phone.

It is a change of mindset; enjoy the off time by being really off the clock. Even if your vacation time is still on the traditional annual schedule, you can do that too. You only need to think differently about what you want your vacation to be.