Archive for October, 2006

We returned from our Sundance Vacations Hawaii trip this past Sunday and here are my comments on our stay at Maui Banyan.  This is our 7th trip to Hawaii and all of them were outstanding to say the least.  As for the Unit we stayed in, it was just fine.  We had maintenance install a security chain on the inside of the entry door and had the cleaning service come in to thoroughly clean the Lanai that, in our opinion, had not been cleaned in weeks or maybe months.  It was that dirty.  When we left for our 2 week vacation on Kauai, we told the rental office that the air condition in the bedroom needed to be repaired.  It kept going on and off constantly so we just shut it down.  Between the fan in the bedroom and the A/C in the living room, the Unit was cool enough.  We also told the rental office that the non-conducting material (for the lack of a better description) that is just around the front inside of the oven the oven door closes on was not only frayed but in some areas completely torn.

Aside from those deficiencies, it really was a nice place to stay.  The Maui Banyan complex was a great place and located in a nice area of Kihei.  We made good use of the beach across the street as well as the pool in the complex.

Russell and Diane Scardigli

Maui-Sept. 23 to Sept. 30

Thanks to the reservation agents and the Banyan property office staff at

Maui for making the planning and check-in process stress free, smooth and

informative.

Maui is a true paradise with something for everyone: A rainforest,

breathtaking vistas, superior beaches, premier vegetation, plus typical

shopping stores in the more commercialized/touristy communities.  Prices for

food, souvenirs and things you’ll forget to pack, did not seem out of line.

TIP: Take slip-resistant, treaded sandals/water shoes for walking on the

volcanic rocks, "tropic wear" clothes, and 1 or 2 nicer Hawaiian outfits for

luau’s. Shop around for prices that will fit your budget for side trips and

excursions. Our unit at Maui Banyon was very clean, spacious and well

equipped (incl. cooler, beach chairs, washer and drier).  Pack light, to

save room for all the mementoes you’ll bring home with you.

Molokai-Sept. 30 to Oct. 7

Our second week was in Molokai, where we rested from the activity of Maui.

The Hotel Molokai is like a step back in time, 180 degrees from the other

islands’ tourist trappings.  The locals deliberately designed this island to

remain a true representative of the "real" Hawaiian island.  Here you will

sleep late, read, play cards and mingle with the locals.  Our time there was

private, romantic and unforgettably restful. Jeanie at the hotel, her staff,

and the residents of the island made sure we were enjoying this peaceful

escape from our real life.  THANKS to all!

Sandy Burkhalter-Sundance Vacations Hawaii trip

The simple one line answer is that we buy vacations in bulk and pass the savings on to our clients.  But you already knew that.  What you really want to know is how.  The answer is three fold; purchase; lease and trade. This week, I’ll focus on purchases.

Purchasing Properties One at a Time

Well, since we started the company we have been reinvesting in its future by purchasing condominiums.  We’d search vacation areas with the classified ads under our arms and sometimes a real estate agent in tow.  Back in the infancy of the company we bought condos one by one.

I remember one of our first big block purchases.  One of our competitors was leaving the condo vacation market and was selling 15 units at Myrtle Beach Resort.  We bought every one.

Even Employees Invest in Inventory

One of the most interesting parts of this story is that it’s not just the principals who reinvest in the company.  Our employees showed an early interest in purchasing condominiums.  They purchase in vacation areas that are important to them and lease them to the company until they are ready to retire or want to use them long term. 

Soon another group came forward; we call them friends of TAN.  They also purchase properties for lease to the company.  Having such broad involvement and support has certainly helped us to control larger numbers of vacation properties.

Reinvestment Is Ongoing

We just completed a purchase for 32 units in Wildwood, New Jersey.  This new property, the Esplanade, will meet the needs of many New Jersey shore vacationers next summer.  In the next 30 days we will also close on two more projects totaling about $7 million dollars.

Tina Dowd

Founder

Sundance Vacations

www.sundancevacations.com

Ken and I are back from a great Sundance vacation week at the Tamarack Resort Condo in Wisconsin Dells. We purposely went after the children were in school so we could have some quiet adult time — it was great! The resort is in a great location just outside the Dells amongst the trees and away from all the manmade water parks, et al. This resort would be perfect, too, during the active summer season for a family with children who wanted to partake of the usual Dells activities.

Ken and I were looking for natural environment sites as well as unusual sites and the Dells Visitors Center was a great help. Our first stop was at a cemetery where we checked out the grave of a woman who died in Kilbourn, WI, the original name of Wisconsin Dells, but who had participated in the Civil War. She was a Confederate spy born in Virginia and who used her good looks and acting abilities to glean information from her Union beaus and passed it on to the confederate generals. She was a mere 18 yrs old and her name was Belle Boyd.

Ken & I love to golf so we spent several days at Trappers Turn Golf Club and played nine holes on The Canyon Course and nine holes on The Lake Course. The photos show the spectacular colors and views on the course along with the "fish" in the know of a tree on one of the holes.

Picture number four shows the gorgeous interior of our living room in the condo, we enjoyed the fireplace as well as all of the other features of the condo. Our only disappointment was that the washer and dryer were not in the unit as described on the website. A Tan representative helped ease our disappointment when we returned.

One unusual restaurant that we found was River’s Edge. Almost all the walls have aquariums and the various species of fish that are in the Wisconsin River were able to be seen tableside. The night we were there, I know that we adults really enjoyed viewing each aquarium in both the dining room and in the bar area. Mary Ellen is in the photo trying to help the wood carved bear land a fish but to no avail.

Another restaurant that was unusual was the Moose Jaw Pizza and Brewery. Ken tries a sample of beer from one of the many carved moose and once inside the pizza and beer were great along with many other selections of good food.

A third restaurant we found was just around the corner from the H.H. Bennett Photography Museum. That is a must see museum to see how the town of Kilbourn became the Dells. The photographs and historical notes are irreplaceable. Back to the restaurant: the view was great from the heights down into the valley of the upper dells and here too the food was reasonably priced and very good.

Sports enthusiasts would also enjoy Damon’s during Packer or Brewer games and here also the food was great.

The next photo Mary Ellen calls "Fort Solitude" — a handmade tree fort in
the middle of an open field surrounded by other fields and forests — no
house or farm to be seen for miles.

We visited two state parks that had been recommended. The next picture shows you a natural stone bridge that the Native Americans used as they walked the lands. A portion of the bridge had fallen away and left a great rock formation of a dinosaur — shown in the next photo. The park is aptly named Natural Stone Bridge Park.

The second park was call Roche Au Cri, which meant "big rocks". The photo
doesn’t really do justice to the actual height — over 650 feet and most of
the Native Americans lived on the top of the rocks as they were islands and
where Mary Ellen stood to take the photo had been under water during the
glacial melting.

Lots of great natural scenery and good places to eat that were different
from the usual Dells fare and we can’t wait to go back because there are
still so many parks and rustic roads to follow. Also had a good time at Ho Chunk Casino!

Lastly be sure and go to the American Broadway Dinner Theater. It is open year round the food is fantastic and the shows are top-notched. The price was extremely reasonable for the gourmet food and quality show.

The Nelson’s
Ken & Mary Ellen                                          Click on photos to enlarge

We had a wonderful week at Anglers Cove.  The location was the best

and the condo was great.  We went on a dinner cruise on the Marco Island Princess, the food was excellent, and the sunset can’t be beat.

We were very close to Naples, and enjoyed everything there.  Beautiful

shops on 5th Ave., and great restaurants on 3rd Ave.  We plan to go back someday.

Sincerely,

Sharon A.

We stayed at Christmas Mountain Villas in September.

The cottage was very cozy and one of the cleanest

places we have stayed at.  It was very nice to have a

separate cottage so that we did not have to put up

with a neighbor’s noise.  There were a lot of things

to do there.

We went on the Ducks in the Dells, which was fun.  We

shopped at the new outlet mall.  We gambled at

Ho-Chunk, which we did a lot.  It’s too bad we

couldn’t win anything.

It was a very enjoyable, relaxing, fun vacation.

The Rodey’s

Hi, My week at The Tamarack resort in Lake Delton, Wisconsin was very enjoyable. The resorts activity center was by far the best my wife and I have come across in 2+ years of renting out condos. The condo was very comfortable and the gas fireplace was a nice thing to have on the cool evenings and mornings.  We will be returning in the future to the Tamarack resort. 

The Mielke’s

Fees

Today I’d like to dispel the misleading rumor that after purchasing with Sundance Vacations, we surprise our unsuspecting clients with “hidden fees.”

Fees…Nope, They’re Not Hidden

Sundance Vacations provides informative group or individual presentations for all prospective clients.  Any fees are made apparent during each presentation.   The fees are introduced using a pre-developed slide presentation.  They are also written on a large display easel located at the front of the room.  Of course, the fees are disclosed in the contract but we also recap all of the fees in a straightforward one- page summary of the contract called the Consumer Disclosure Acknowledgement.   This one page summary makes it very easy for our customers to review pertinent details at a glance.

So, What are the Fees?

There are 4 fees that are not prepaid.  These fees are paid to Travel Advantage Network by the traveler when they use the vacations. 

1.      Annual service charge.  Many products and services have annual service fees similar to credit cards, country clubs, and gyms.  Our service charge can be paid annually or monthly at the convenience of our client.

2.      Processing Fee.  Clients pay a processing fee each time they make a reservation

3.      Peak Season Upgrade.  Clients purchase a standard package and only pay this fee when they travel during our peak season time.

4.      Additional Bedroom Upgrade.  Client may request a larger unit for an additional fee.

Fees, We’re Proud of Them

Have you traveled to the beach during summer, or taken a winter ski trip to the mountains?  Were you distressed at the inflated rates charged during those peak travel times?  Our clients now pay only $30.00 more per night when vacationing during our prime/peak season.

What about space? Have you ever needed more than one hotel room to accommodate your family?  Impersonal hotels charge full price for each accommodation and give you identical rooms connected by double locked doors.   Sundance clients may upgrade to a two or even three-bedroom suite (each extra bedroom sleeps two additional people) and at this time the cost is only $30.00 per night for each additional bedroom.

We view this as one of the great benefits.

Fees, How they Benefit Our Clients

We do not incur every expense upfront, so we don’t charge them upfront.  Our clients can hold onto their money longer, and only pay fees when they are incurred.  Because we collect fees, the corporation always has an incentive to fulfill vacation requests.  Collecting revenue over time through this fee structure ensures the company still has money coming in.  As a result, the fee structure functions as a built in protection for our clients.

Please Share

If you’d like to share on the corporate blog, please send your comments.  If you are interested in writing for our client blog (sharing your vacation experiences with other travelers) please email us at blog@vacmail.com or call me at 800-220-9400 x 130.

Kathy O’Mara

Communications Director