Archive for May, 2008

This is a sampling from our first blog post several years ago. We can’t expect customers to dig around in years of archived posts to find this very important information so we have decided to repost the content.

Hello!

Welcome to the Sundance Vacations corporate blog! Now that the blog is up and running, I sit-rubbing my palms together in anticipation…why? I am very eager to write about the company I know and love.

Blog Goal

Joining me in this blogging endeavor is my friend, Tina Dowd. Tina and her husband, John, are the founders of Sundance Vacations. Tina and I are “blogging virgins” but that won’t stop us from jumping in with two feet! In addition to writing for the corporate blog, we are organizing a client blog where three to four travelers will be featured each month. The purpose of the corporate blog is to reveal the truth about Sundance and to hopefully enlighten those of you who have questions or concerns about the company. Our goal is to post new content weekly. There are many things we want to address. At this time, we feel it’s most important for you, our clients, that we address the many misleading rumors about Sundance Vacations floating on the Internet.

So, who am I?

Please indulge me while I qualify myself as someone who can speak honestly and knowledgably about the company. My name is Kathy O’Mara; I am the Communications Director for Sundance Vacations, and have worked here in several different capacities for almost eleven years. I began as a marketer, and after time was promoted to mid-level management. As the company and our client base grew, I was offered and accepted the position of New Client Services Manager; there I stayed for eight and a half years. I left the company last September to work in the hotel industry; it was fun, but for me, not satisfying. I made the decision to leave my position, and called John to let him know I was entering the job market, “You better move fast,” I joked, “Or some other incredibly fortunate company will scoop me up!” The timing was perfect all involved, and viola! Here I am, the new Communications Director. It feels like I’ve come home and am back where I belong, working for Sundance and its clients.

Work History/BBB Award

It’s been my pleasure over the years, to work side by side with people who truly care about providing their clients with the best possible product. Sundance Vacations holds high ethical standards for their employees. “Try to see things from the client’s point of view,” and, always approach each situation with clients, “in the interest of customer service,” are attitudes all employees are taught to embrace. When I was the New Client Services manager, it was my responsibility to make sure we took whatever steps were necessary to ensure clients were satisfied (and usually pleasantly surprised) by the way we resolved their concerns. Because of its high standards, I chose to nominate Sundance Vacations for the 2005 Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania Better Business Torch Award. The competition was tough, but our values and principles won the award for Sundance Vacations.

Why Listen to Me?

I’ve worked here a long time and know how much thought, time and effort the owners and the employees put into this company. I can’t help but take it personally when the business I know to be honest and ethical is wrongly attacked. But, why should you listen to me instead of an anonymous posting? Because, I am telling you the truth of whom I am, someone with genuine first hand knowledge of Sundance Vacations.

Disgruntled employees, competitors, litigious public, and of course, actual clients

Damaging posts come from a variety of sources: disgruntled employees, competitors, litigious public, and of course, actual clients. Because it’s difficult to know which posts are fabricated and which are factual, we are creating the corporate blog to reveal the truth about Sundance Vacations.We are 100% committed to the satisfaction of our clients. Any person who truly needs assistance is encouraged to call customer service at 1-800-264-3802, or you may e-mail me at komara@vacmail.com.

What to Look for in the Coming Weeks

We look forward to showing you the Sundance you don’t know, and within the next few weeks, we’ll be adding to the blog. We’ll talk about the differences between our product and a traditional timeshare product. We’ll dedicate a week to discussing the fee structure. We’ll reveal future expansion plans for Sundance Vacations. Talk about exciting sponsorships.Share information about important community involvement and charitable endeavors and unveil new resort properties as we acquire them.

Of course we’ll talk about all of the popular destinations where Sundance Vacations (with the assistance of Travel Advantage Network) excels, like: Orlando, Myrtle Beach, the Poconos, Colorado, Hawaii, South Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Wisconsin Dells, Williamsburg and so on. We will reveal our favorite restaurants, our favorite activities, some tried and true tips and some major blunders.

Please Share

If you’d like to share on the corporate blog, please send me your comments. Posts with inappropriate language will not be published, and posts not related to the subject being discussed will not be posted. If you have ideas for discussion topics, bring them on. We welcome criticism and praise (not necessarily in that order!). If you are interested in writing for our client blog (don’t get scared it just means sharing your personal vacation experiences with other Sundance travelers) please email me at komara@vacmail.com or call me at 800-220-9400 x 130.

Happy Blogging!

Kathy O’Mara

Kathy is no longer with the company but you can reach Communications Director Amanda Miller at pr@vacmail.com.

I hope you enjoyed re-reading our original post.

Sundance Vacations employee Heather Henning visits Wildwood by the Sea. See post below.

A co-worker and I recently stayed at the Wildwood By the Sea in Wildwood, NJ. The condo was very clean, comfortable, nicely decorated, and located only half a block from the boardwalk and beach. Since we were so close to the boardwalk and the beach, we were able to leave our vehicle sit because everything was in walking distance. WE SAVED A LOT OF MONEY ON GASOLINE!

It was a great time browsing through all of the nifty shops. We went crazy buying clothes for ourselves and other unique gifts for our families. We found the boardwalk shoppes to be well stocked with fun beach apparel and a ton of other items that were very inexpensive.

We had unlimited choices of great restaurants within walking distance. We also have the option to cook meals if we wanted. We drove only 10 minutes to Cape May to have dinner at the Lobster House. The food was excellent! Every dish was fresh and perfectly prepared. The service was just as good as the food, absolutely outstanding! I highly recommend the Lobster House while visiting the Jersey Shore.

All in all we had a great experience. I cannot wait to visit again at the end of the summer. I might even take my fiance along this time!! 

-Heather Henning - Sundance Vacations, Harrisburg, Pa

The word scam is tossed around a lot.  What is a scam?  According to dictionary.com- scam means a fraudulent scheme to make a quick profit.

I think the phrase intentional should be part of the definition.

We recently visited Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.  The popular Orlando theme park offers an upgraded ticket for avoiding long lines, Express Pass Plus. In addition to their admission, thrill seekers spend up to $45.99 to have the Express Pass Plus option added to their admission.

We found the wait times to be grossly exaggerated at each attraction.  Could it be that you can’ t sell expensive extras if the wait time is only 5-10 minutes?  That’s where I think the phrase “intentional” is important.  I don’t know if Universal execs are trying to under promise and over deliver or if there is an intentional exaggeration of wait times in order to “make a quick profit” on the Express Pass Plus sale.

Even though the wait was posted as 10 minutes we walked right on the Flying Unicorn.  But the peculiar event that raised my suspicion was that the line was so short we were tempted to ask the attendant if we could stay on and ride again.  We chose to exit and walk around because there were a handful of people(about 10)  waiting to get on.  When we got around to the posted wait time it was being changed to 25 minutes!  We knew it was bogus so we entered the queue and walked back on.  We experienced a similar exaggeration at Spiderman.

In closing, while visiting the Disney theme parks (where they do not charge extra for the Fast Pass option) we found the wait times to be very accurate.  We were asked on two occasions to carry timer cards to the ride attendant so wait times could be measured accurately.

So you decide, intentional scam or inept measurement.  Either way, enjoy your next Sundance Vacations’ trip to the Orlando area.

Sundance Vacations has been selected as a Finalist in the 2008 American Business Awards. Companies as diverse as Accenture, Acxiom Corporation, Harrah’s Entertainment, KV Pharmaceutical, and Teamwork Athletic Apparel are among those vying for a Stevie Award.  More than 2,600 entries were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories.

Sundance Vacations received two out of three nominations that were submitted to the awards judges. The two entries that were chosen for national recognition are Best Sales Team, and Best New Product. The company was selected because of the high average scores received during more than a month of preliminary judging. The next step is the Stevie Awards ceremony that will be held in New York City on June 12^th. Mike and Barbara Kasper will represent the sales team and Christina Allen and guest will represent the company for the VIP Program. This is an exciting time for everyone at Sundance Vacations, and we can’t wait to see the results!!

How do you feel about Sundance Vacations being recognized for this outstanding achievement? What do you think about the finalists? Make sure you wish them luck!

I have just experienced one of the most relaxing, stress-free vacations that I have ever been on. We stayed at Sierra Suites in Daytona Beach. We arrived late for check-in on Saturday evening. The best part of check-in was, there was no check-in, just a simple lockbox.  No need to wait impatiently for someone to assign you to a room. You just park the car, go directly to your unit, key in a pre-assigned code and take your keys. It was the first step in our "no hassle" adventure.

Oceanfront View

We were extremely pleased with the location of our 1 bedroom unit.  Sierra Suites sits directly on the beach. Our room faced the ocean and the pool, both of which were just steps away from our front door. It was fantastic. We dropped off our bags and took a short ride down Atlantic Ave.

We stopped at "Tailgators" http://tailgatersdaytona.com/ to get a bite to eat and to have a few cocktails before retiring for the evening. The service was fast, the food was good and the drinks were cold. Upon returning to our room for the evening, we agreed not to set the alarm clock the entire trip.

Crashing Waves

The next day we awoke to sounds of crashing waves. It was very calming. We strolled along the beach for an hour and stopped for breakfast at Daytona’s famous "Starlite Diner". We took a slow walk back to spend the rest of our afternoon relaxing by the pool and meeting some other travelers. We met some very nice people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Atlanta and Wisconsin. Everyone was enjoying themselves and commenting on how nice their rooms were. We all agreed how peaceful it was to sit by the pool and listen to the ocean. The only complaint that I heard is that there were no garbage cans in the pool area.

Welcome gathering place

The pool area is a friendly, welcoming gathering place. It was never too crowded or too loud. At any time of day there was a small handful of people chatting about their plans or recalling their adventures and recent vacations.   Everyone got to know each other and enjoyed each other’s company while floating around in the pool. There are five gas grills available and guests took advantage of grilling burgers and fish. There were plenty of lounge chairs and also several patio tables with umbrellas incase you needed some shade. And, if you had the urge to get up and actually do something, shuffleboard was an option.

Ice Cream Truck

We spent the entire afternoon either floating in the pool or wading in the ocean to cool off. And, as a bonus… every once in a while the ice cream truck would drive right down the beach and make a pit stop at Sierra Suites.  Everything seemed to be right at our fingertips.

Nesting Turtles

A great part about Sierra Suites is that is the ideal location for when you want peace and quiet, yet only minutes away from the action. Later that evening, we headed out for dinner at the "Oyster Pub"and then stopped at a friendly Irish tavern called "Robbie O’Connell’s" http://robbieoconnellspub.com/. When we returned to the resort, we took a stroll on the beach in the moonlight and came across large holes in the sand. We learned that the giant holes are made by turtles who dig in the sand to lay their eggs and then return back to the ocean. It was very interesting, but too dark to take pictures.

Best Hash Browns on the East Coast

Sierra Suites is conveniently positioned to reach several other tourist attractions outside of Daytona Beach without any hassle or headache. One morning, we unexpectedly woke early up to watch the sunrise and decided to head to Universal Studios in Orlando. We stopped at a nearby restaurant named "Sherry’s" which offered an all you can eat breakfast buffet for 4.99 before heading out of Daytona. It was delicious!! I can confirm that "Sherry" makes the best hash browns on the east coast. It was only about an hour drive to Universal. Just jump on Rt.4 West and look for the Universal signs. It couldn’t be any easier. We spent the entire day at both parks and enjoyed lunch at Margaritaville at City Walk. After returning to Daytona we picked up a Greek Pizza from a local pizza shop and had a few drinks by pool.

St. Augustine

Our short trip to Orlando was so comforting without having to fumble around with awkward maps or confusing directions that the next day we decided to venture out again. This time we drove north along the coast. We took the scenic Rt. 1 to St. Augustine where we stopped for lunch. Again, no need for maps or directions…just sit back, relax and follow the road. St. Augustine has beautiful beaches and a quaint historical district with cobble stone streets and many choices for shopping or dinning. Be sure to visit the fort and the lighthouse while you are there. We continued north to Jacksonville to visit a friend and enjoyed dinner at a local micro brewery. It was only about an hour drive back on 95 South to Daytona.

The entire experience at Sierra Suites was very tranquil and serene. Yet, the vacation was filled with excitement and adventure. I was saddened when we had to leave what became our home away home for a few days. On the last day, after catching a little bit more sun at the pool and beach, we packed our bags and said good-bye to the other sun-worshipers at Sierra. We placed the keys back in the lock box and away we went to the airport. It was a very relaxing, hassle-free vacation. So, what are you waiting for? You deserve it!! I’m already planning my next one. I’m thinking about Myrtle Beach!!

Hello from Chicago!

I must say, this is my second time in Chicago, and my feelings haven’t changed. I am in love with this city!! There is so much to see in my short stay here. But, for those of you who know me, I’m totally a little tourist at heart. I’m staying at the most amazing hotel ever…The Drake on the Magnificent Mile..Courtesy of John and Tina Dowd of course! I almost feel like McCauley Culkin in Home Alone, you know when he was lost in New York!! Although I’m having the greatest time, I am experiencing Sundance withdrawal! I miss my little desk in the middle of the hallway. So,  you’re probably wondering, what the heck is she doing in Chicago? Well, before you get your britches in a bunch…I’m currently attending a Corporate Communications Conference. Some of the seminars I have monitored so far include: Smarter, Faster Communications in the New Millennium, Small photo budget, big image impact, Web 2.0 to keep up with and join the conversation, How to write a big story in a little time, etc. So does that answer your question? Yes..I am working!! While at the conference, I’ve realized that I have a hard time speaking up in a room full of people, especially when there are really important people in the room. It’s kind of like being scared to ask a question in high school, because you think it might be stupid to someone else. I took a chance today, and actually asked some questions. Would you believe that there were people who thanked me, because they were also curious about the same thing. It was a great lesson.. I have learned so many useful communication tools that I can’t wait to bring back to Sundance.. Well, it’s just about dinner time, and some Chicago style deep dish pizza sounds phenomenal! Humm…I wonder how many points this will cost me. Its a good thing I’m skipping weight watchers this week!

Do you have any ideas on what would make the communication better or easier at Sundance Vacations? Why do you think everyone is so afraid to speak up during meetings with the "big" people?

-Amanda