Faking a vacation? Florida hotel will hook you up

Are you faking it when you go on vacation? Many people are, according to TripAdvisor’s 2011 Travel Trends Forecast. The website, which features user reviews of hotels and other tourist sites, surveyed more than 3,000 of its users last year and reported that 69% said they connected with work while on vacation, and 62% said they checked their work e-mails.

Blurring the lines between work and vacation isn’t new, but job creep might lend credence to a decidedly underwhelming travel trend: the “fake-ation.” And the marketing already has begun.

Witness the Perfect Fake-ation package from the Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla. It starts at $119 per night, according to the hotel, and offers Wi-Fi throughout the site , including poolside; access to a 24-hour business center; endless cups of coffee; a copy of the Wall Street Journal; and a private office available for conference calls. Um, whatever happened to “come unwind in our luxurious spa”?

“Good or bad, it’s obvious that a lot of travelers want or need to keep one foot in both worlds,” David Rijos, manager of the Florida hotel, said in a statement about the offer. “By providing conveniences to our guests who still need to conduct business while enjoying the exceptional amenities of our resort, we are hopefully able to cut down on the work portion of their fake-ation.”

I’m not sure I want my resort-spa worrying about my workload. But the Shores Resort package does hit my weak spot: I took three “fake-ations” last year, and ubiquitous Wi-Fi was vital to juggling my workload and time off.

At least I took a vacation, real or not. More than half of Americans last year didn’t use up their vacation time, according to a Reuters story. So maybe we just need some ground rules, such as no laptops in the spa. For now.