Archive for September, 2007

Sundance Vacations founders, John and Tina Dowd recently acquired a beachfront property in Daytona Beach.  The Sierra Suites consists of nine oceanfront units plus three additional units across A1A.  TAN travelers will enjoy the heated oceanfront pool and patio, cool ocean breezes and the sound of waves lapping steps from their door.                                                                                                                                                                 

The units vary in size from one to three bedrooms.  “We looked at the property last October and fell in love with its superb oceanfront location,” recalls Tina Dowd.                                                                                                                          

The property is currently booked with retail clients who had reservations with the previous owner.  Travelers love this quiet property as evidenced by the excellent comments and rating on TripAdvisor.com.  Some of those comments include; “All units are well furnished and very clean.  We always have a great vacation here.  We are looking forward to returning again this year” and “Everything about it is awesome.” 

Despite the accolades of previous travelers, the property is being standardized to match the typical interiors of Travel Advantage Network units.  Some of the upgrades in the first few weeks of owning the property included new linens, towels, and sheets.  New tables, chairs and umbrellas were also placed on the pool deck.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Travelers who just can’t leave work behind will appreciate the wireless Internet connection available poolside and in the courtyard.

The property is being managed by Tan Resort Group.  Most of the inventory has been loaded into the database and will be available for TAN bookings soon.   Due to lease obligations this property may not be available for some of the premium nights around special events.  For information about the property, please contact your Total Vacation Services Department at 1.800.223.0088 ext. 3.

Kathy O’Mara

Communications Director

Sundance Vacations founders, John and Tina Dowd recently acquired a beachfront property in Daytona Beach.  The Sierra Suites consists of nine oceanfront units plus three additional units across A1A.  TAN travelers will enjoy the heated oceanfront pool and patio, cool ocean breezes and the sound of waves lapping steps from their door.                                                                                                                                                                 

The units vary in size from one to three bedrooms.  “We looked at the property last October and fell in love with its superb oceanfront location,” recalls Tina Dowd.                                                                                                                          

The property is currently booked with retail clients who had reservations with the previous owner.  Travelers love this quiet property as evidenced by the excellent comments and rating on TripAdvisor.com.  Some of those comments include; “All units are well furnished and very clean.  We always have a great vacation here.  We are looking forward to returning again this year” and “Everything about it is awesome.”

Despite the accolades of previous travelers, the property is being standardized to match the typical interiors of Travel Advantage Network units.  Some of the upgrades in the first few weeks of owning the property included new linens, towels, and sheets.  New tables, chairs and umbrellas were also placed on the pool deck.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Travelers who just can’t leave work behind will appreciate the wireless Internet connection available poolside and in the courtyard.

The property is being managed by Tan Resort Group.  Most of the inventory has been loaded into the database and will be available for TAN bookings soon.   Due to lease obligations this property may not be available for some of the premium nights around special events.  For information about the property, please contact your Total Vacation Services Department at 1.800.223.0088 ext. 3.

Kathy O’Mara

Communications Director 

Sundance Vacations was recently named as one of the Best Places to Work in PA for 2007.  The awards program, created in 2000, is one of the first of its kind offered by a state in the country.  The program is a public/private partnership of Team Pennsylvania Foundation, the Chamber of Business and Industry and the Central Penn Business Journal.                                                                           

This statewide survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Pennsylvania, benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses.  The Best Places to Work in PA list is made up of 100 companies split into two groups: 50 medium-sized companies (25-250 employees) and 50 large-sized companies (251 or more employees).  Sundance Vacations was named one of the Best Places to Work in the large category.                                                                                                                                           

To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:

-Have at least 25 employees in Pennsylvania;

-Be a for-profit or not-for-profit business;

-Be a publicly or privately held business;

-Have a facility in Pennsylvania; and

-Be in good standing with Commonwealth agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction.                                                                                                                                              

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the 100 Best Places to Work in PA.  The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics.  This part of the process was worth approximately 24% of the total evaluation.  The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience.  “We can’t wait to dive into those surveys.  Everyone appreciates positive feedback but I’ll save those for when I’m having a bad day.  I want to read the neutral and negative comments because that is where we can drive change and make improvements,” explains CEO, Tina Dowd.  Nearly 20,000 Pennsylvania employees filled out the survey.  The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        John Dowd, Owner and President, made the decision to participate in the 100 Best Places to Work awards program, while I coordinated the application and survey process for all 350 Pennsylvania employees.                                                                                                                                                

Sundance Vacations will be recognized and honored at the Best Places to Work in PA evening awards ceremony on Tuesday, November 27, 2007, at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center.  Our final rankings will be revealed at the ceremony.                                                                                                                                                                                    

For the Sundance employees who read this post, what benefits do you like?  What benefits would you like to have?  What changes would you make?  We appreciate your thoughts and ideas.  Send them to me at komara@vacmail.com or blog@vacmail.com.  If you wish your comment to be confidential, just mention it in your comment; I will remove your name and maintain your anonymity.                                                                                                                                                                                              

~ Kathy O’Mara

Vacations are supposed to be a time to relax, right?  So I find it funny, that many travelers find the need to fill every minute of their vacation with stuff to do.  Ok, I admit it, sometimes I’m one of those people.

I guess I was pretending to be a Pocono tourist this past weekend.  I crammed my weekend full.  After biking for 13 miles on Saturday in the Lehigh Gorge State Park (see my previous post) we did indeed go rafting on Sunday.  For $55 per person my daughters and I spent the day paddling on the Lehigh.  We went with Pocono Whitewater Adventures on Route 903 (1-800-whitewater).  The weather turned chilly overnight after a warm and pleasant day on Saturday.  Asking for two good weather days in a row is apparently out of the question.

We rented full wetsuits.  They stunk like sweat or mold or both.  Mine was, well, wet when I put it on which was unfortunate because although I was quite willing to get wet I would have preferred to do it at the river. 

We chose to raft the Gorge section of the river where the rapids are a little more exciting instead of the family float.  Our group was small, just 4 rafts.  We geared up, boarded the bus and were transported to Drake’s Creek to launch our rafts.

Launching our rafts was probably the most dangerous part (for broken ankles).  We had to heave our raft through a washed out gully, balancing each step on river rocks. The river guides said a major flood caused the damage.  Thankfully two other adults were added to our raft because my two young daughters and I would have had trouble getting the raft to the water in those conditions.

Finally, we were launched.  Morgan and Madison upfront, two teachers from Bethlehem in the middle and me in the back.  Somehow I got the job of captain. Within 3 minutes of working on the river, we were all hot!  That’s right working.  We’re paddling, we’re steering and we’re bailing.

I definitely had the wrong image of rafting.  They instructed us back at the rafting center to leave everything in our cars (dry clothes, dry towels, cameras, cell phones, etc).  I did.  I thought that things could get wet, through some splashing etc.  I had no idea that water was going to seep into the bottom of the boat or worse yet, that we were going to hit “45 minute” rock and have water fill our entire raft!  There’s no time to bail when your running the rapids and trying to avoid rocks but when we got to flat water, we bailed and bailed and bailed.  At least the heavy water pushed us off “45 minute rock” very quickly.  Apparently it’s called 45 minute rock because it’ll take 45 minutes to get rescued or freed from the rock.

Although my daughters were disappointed that they didn’t get to go for an unexpected swim, I’m thankful that they stayed in the raft the entire time.  I got dumped out twice (once when we stopped abruptly, (of course on a rock) and the other time when I was ruddering in the back and just rolled out.

My girls loved the trip.  It was a real life roller coaster.  They loved the class III rapids.  I would not go if the river was any lower, in fact, if we go again we’re going to watch for special water releases.   I think fall is a good time to go rafting.  The water is still warm and the river is not too low.

In closing, let me say that it is a long day.  We arrived at the rafting center before 9:45 am.  I don’t remember what time we actually got on the river (who can check their watch when they are desperately trying not to break their ankle).  We got off the river around 3:30 and were back at our cars at about 4:00 pm.

Every muscle in my upper body hurts (my shoulders, neck, obliques, forearms, pecs, just everything!).  I tried aiming the jets of a Jacuzzi on my shoulders.  I applied BenGay and finally I took an Advil.  Obviously, I tried to muscle the river too hard.  Maybe we should have tried throwing the paddles in the boat and letting the river just take us.

Rafting while on vacation has its advantages; you don’t have to use a sick day the day after.  How about you?  Have you ever felt like you needed a vacation after you had a vacation or participated in a "leisurely" activity? Let us know…

Tina Dowd

Vacations are supposed to be a time to relax, right?  So I find it funny, that many travelers find the need to fill every minute of their vacation with stuff to do.  Ok, I admit it, sometimes I’m one of those people.

I guess I was pretending to be a Pocono tourist this past weekend.  I crammed my weekend full.  After biking for 13 miles on Saturday in the Lehigh Gorge State Park (see my previous post) we did indeed go rafting on Sunday.  For $55 per person my daughters and I spent the day paddling on the Lehigh.  We went with Pocono Whitewater Adventures on Route 903 (1-800-whitewater).  The weather turned chilly overnight after a warm and pleasant day on Saturday.  Asking for two good weather days in a row is apparently out of the question.

We rented full wetsuits.  They stunk like sweat or mold or both.  Mine was, well, wet when I put it on which was unfortunate because although I was quite willing to get wet I would have preferred to do it at the river. 

We chose to raft the Gorge section of the river where the rapids are a little more exciting instead of the family float.  Our group was small, just 4 rafts.  We geared up, boarded the bus and were transported to Drake’s Creek to launch our rafts.

Launching our rafts was probably the most dangerous part (for broken ankles).  We had to heave our raft through a washed out gully, balancing each step on river rocks. The river guides said a major flood caused the damage.  Thankfully two other adults were added to our raft because my two young daughters and I would have had trouble getting the raft to the water in those conditions.

Finally, we were launched.  Morgan and Madison upfront, two teachers from Bethlehem in the middle and me in the back.  Somehow I got the job of captain. Within 3 minutes of working on the river, we were all hot!  That’s right working.  We’re paddling, we’re steering and we’re bailing.

I definitely had the wrong image of rafting.  They instructed us back at the rafting center to leave everything in our cars (dry clothes, dry towels, cameras, cell phones, etc).  I did.  I thought that things could get wet, through some splashing etc.  I had no idea that water was going to seep into the bottom of the boat or worse yet, that we were going to hit “45 minute” rock and have water fill our entire raft!  There’s no time to bail when your running the rapids and trying to avoid rocks but when we got to flat water, we bailed and bailed and bailed.  At least the heavy water pushed us off “45 minute rock” very quickly.  Apparently it’s called 45 minute rock because it’ll take 45 minutes to get rescued or freed from the rock.

Although my daughters were disappointed that they didn’t get to go for an unexpected swim, I’m thankful that they stayed in the raft the entire time.  I got dumped out twice (once when we stopped abruptly, (of course on a rock) and the other time when I was ruddering in the back and just rolled out.

My girls loved the trip.  It was a real life roller coaster.  They loved the class III rapids.  I would not go if the river was any lower, in fact, if we go again we’re going to watch for special water releases.   I think fall is a good time to go rafting.  The water is still warm and the river is not too low.

In closing, let me say that it is a long day.  We arrived at the rafting center before 9:45 am.  I don’t remember what time we actually got on the river (who can check their watch when they are desperately trying not to break their ankle).  We got off the river around 3:30 and were back at our cars at about 4:00 pm.

Every muscle in my upper body hurts (my shoulders, neck, obliques, forearms, pecs, just everything!).  I tried aiming the jets of a Jacuzzi on my shoulders.  I applied BenGay and finally I took an Advil.  Obviously, I tried to muscle the river too hard.  Maybe we should have tried throwing the paddles in the boat and letting the river just take us.

Rafting while on vacation has its advantages; you don’t have to use a sick day the day after.  How about you?  Have you ever felt like you needed a vacation after you had a vacation or participated in a "leisurely" activity? Let us know…

Tina Dowd

The Kisses for Kyle foundation was the beneficiary of two fund raising events in August.  We initially discovered the charity because of their wine fest that takes place in September.  We are one of the proud sponsors of that event.

Staff members were moved by the Kyle Snyder’s story available at http://www.kissesforkyle.org/about_kyle.htm.  Wilkes Barre charity coordinator, Jenny Y. dried her eyes and jumped into high gear to raise money for the organization.

The first event was a pay to attend a fundraising picnic.  It was held at the Dowd residence on August 12^th.  About fifty sales managers, marketing managers and support staff attended the picnic.  The small group raised  $1,630. 

The Wilkes Barre staff also organized a yard sale.  The colossal sale took place on Saturday August 18^th.  Employees donated items to fill more than 15 tables piled high with stuff.  The event offered face painting, food and a basket raffle in addition to the yard sale.  As a result of much hard work and the generosity of the staff the employees raised $1,232.42 for the Kisses for Kyle foundation.  

The remaining unsold items were donated to a local women’s shelter and the Salvation Army.  The unused boxes of hotdogs, hamburgers and lots of other food items were donated to VISION, a homeless shelter serving Wilkes Barre.

Employees will present the charity with a check for $2,862.42 at the Kisses For Kyle Food and Wine Fest held on September 29^th.

A big thanks to all of the employees who offered their time, talents and treasures for this great charity.