WHY IT RATES: Car rental company Sixt is offering 20 percent off all bookings on January 30 to encourage people to use their vacation days.—Donald Wood, Breaking News Senior Writer.

Sixt Rent-a-Car, the world's premier affordable luxury car rental service with more than 2,000 locations in more thana 100 countries, is renowned around the world for its one-of-a-kind "Sixt Experience", meeting the unique needs of each customer with world-class service.

On Tuesday, Sixt joined other respected businesses and organizations in encouraging Americans to be intentional about taking vacation days in 2018 as part of #NationalPlanforVacation Day. The company is offering 20 percent off all bookings in all categories today, January 30th, as part of the effort.

"We take great pride as Americans in working hard and playing hard, but research reveals that the reality is—we hardly play. Taking time off is better for health, increased work productivity, and a better quality of life. In order to make this happen, our partners at Project Time Off point out that we all have to craft a plan and stick to the plan," said Daniel Florence, COO of Sixt USA. "That's why Sixt is proud to take part in this important initiative and are encouraging our own employees to participate this year. As a company focused on leisure travel, we know best how deeply satisfied our customers are when they take the time to enjoy life and enjoy the ride."

Every year more than half of Americans, 54 percent, fail to use all their time off, creating a stockpile of 662 million unused vacation days. The most effective remedy for American workers who want to use more vacation days is better planning. Yet just over half of households set aside time to plan the use of their vacation time each year. National Plan for Vacation Day, launched by Project: Time Off, is a call-to-action for Americans to stop making excuses and start making vacation plans.

Research shows that planners have a distinct advantage over non-planners. Project: Time Off's The State of American Vacation 2017 report found that planners use more of their time, take longer vacations, and are happier.

—52 percent of planners took all of their vacation time vs. 40 percent of non-planners.

—75 percent of planners were more likely to take a full week of vacation time or more at a time. Non-planners take significantly fewer days—zero to three—than planners at once (42 percent to 18 percent).

—More planners report they are "very" or "extremely" happy with their relationships (83 percent vs. 70 percent), health and well-being (57 percent vs. 48 percent), company (57 percent vs. 51 percent), and job (59 percent vs. 50 percent) compared to non-planners.

—America's unused vacation time represents a missed economic opportunity. Americans' 662 million unused vacation days presents a $236 billion economic opportunity.

To help employees get their vacation days on the calendar, Project: Time Off created a vacation planning tool. By simply entering the number of days off earned, users can plot out their trips or vacations for the year, export to their work or personal calendar, and share with their family and co-workers.

SOURCE: Sixt press release.