Archive for June, 2010

Yesterday, the Times Leader published an article that claimed “The region’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 10.3 percent in May, stretching the local streak of monthly increases to four and inching close to a level reached 18 years ago.”

Despite the increase stated in the article, it went on to say that “The jobs created in the region during the month were mostly within the service-providing sector. The leisure and hospitality category added 1,000 jobs as local restaurants and outdoor recreational businesses hired for the summer.” You can bet Sundance Vacations was a part of the companies that hired.

That’s right! June has been a busy month for the Human Resources department at Sundance Vacations. Busy because Sundance Vacations hired more than 60 people in several different offices throughout the company. On June 15th the company had a job fair at the company headquarters in Wilkes-Barre, PA, in which 57 people were interviewed for positions ranging from outbound marketers to a brand new permission marketing administrative assistant.

Bill Watkins was one of the 57 people to attend the job fair on June 15. Bill was laid off last June and has been searching for a job ever since. “I made it my ‘job’ looking for a new job. I looked in the newspaper, online, career link and anything I could think of to find work. It was a really hard time,” Bill reflected on the past year. “When I finally got hired by Sundance Vacations, it felt like I hit the Powerball. As soon as I found out, I went home to tell my family, fiancee and friends,” Bill exclaimed about being hired.   After two weeks of working at Sundance Vacations Bill said, “I felt like a member of the team on day one.”  Katelynn Warmen was also one of the 57 that came in for the job fair. She experienced much of the same struggle Bill experienced in finding a job as well. She had previous experience in telemarketing but said, “It doesn’t feel like your average telemarketing position. This is so much better. I love the friendly and fun atmosphere.”

Tina Dowd, founder, said that “We hope that the economy will keep recovering and we can steamroll straight through fall as well.” Despite being in a recession Tina added that “We did not see a reduction in desire to travel.  People still want to preserve some semblance of normalcy to their lives.  We did see an increase in the desire to save money on travel, which has been good for Sundance Vacations. As a result of that desire, we’ve been able to grow through the recession.”

Being able to have the amount of job openings in the current economy is also a testament to the hard work of all the employees. Sundance Vacations would not be able to grow and hire more people without the hard work and dedication of its employees. Alan Horro, who was hired with Bill and Katelynn, said that he “feels great talking on the phones. The support here at Sundance Vacations is incredible. I couldn’t ask for anything better.” Katie Fox, who previously worked here in 2004 and just recently came back, can agree with Alan’s statement. She said “The core values are still the same as before but the training keeps getting better. It is outstanding. I feel confident and better about my work when I have the tools to do my job.” When hiring, Sundance Vacations looks for the same type of people that have helped this company grow – hard working, passionate and dedicated.

Sundance University - Orientation/training program

Because of the major gulf oil leak, some travelers may be leery of traveling these days down near the gulf coast. For fear that the beaches are covered in oil, tourism has been down. Along with the tourism being down, a lot of the fishing businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are currently not in operation as well.  How can they fish in oil? Obviously this is effecting the economy in certain spots, but is it all over the gulf like some think?

In an article published on June 14 on ABCNews.com,  Miami Beach Rep. Richard Steinberg is quoted saying “People outside of the U.S. look at Florida as one (beach) and don’t understand if there’s a little bit of oil in the Panhandle, they think it’s all over the state.” Despite fears, Sundance Vacations contacted a few of our customers who have been traveling near the Panhandle during this oil leak crisis. Pat Gerdeman, who traveled to one of our locations in Destin, FL ( located on the Panhandle just east of Pensacola, FL) during June 6-10, said that she ran into no problems while vacationing, the beaches were beautiful and tourism didn’t seem to be down. Asked if people were fearful in Destin, Pat felt that the media makes it out to be worse than it really is. Another customer who traveled near the coast said they also experienced a great time without being effected by the oil spill.

Here is a video update from last week about the beaches from Destin, FL:

Even though the Panhandle has had some oil creep onto the beaches, most of the beaches are still clear and clean. In the same article, we learn that “South Florida tourism officials are pushing for [a] campaign to clarify that the vast majority of Florida’s 825 miles of beaches are oil-free.” The article concludes with Steinberg worrying that all the media attention and recent presidential visit will put the wrong image in the heads of tourists. For now most of the beaches in Florida are clear, even in the Panhandle. Pensacola has been the only area to close portions of the beach.

As Florida battles the bad perception the oil spill may be giving it’s beaches and tourist areas, other areas such as Mississippi beaches remain open despite seeing oil on some of their beaches. The Mississippi Gulf Coast Official Website states that “With large amounts of oil and tar balls washing up on South Mississippi beaches Monday, state officials have issued advisories for two areas along the beach in Harrison and Jackson Counties.  These beaches are not closed and beach goers may continue to use these beaches, but the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the Mississippi State Department of Health advise people to be aware of their surroundings while recreating.” Many other areas can not say the same such as in Louisiana, whose beaches have been devastated by the oil.

As the gulf oil leak crisis continues to leak oil without an end in site, gulf officials are doing everything they can to contain the spill and keep our beaches clean. Tourists can also help out by volunteering. Check out the following sites for more information on volunteering for the four northern gulf states:

http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/- Louisiana

http://www.volunteerflorida.org/ – Florida

http://211connectsalabama.org/ – Alabama

http://www.mcvs.org/ – Mississippi

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory?id=10914401

Now through the end of the summer or August 13, you can enjoy movies on the beach in Ocean City, Maryland. Instead of spending your nights inside watching movies while on vacation, take it to the beach and enjoy a variety of movies all summer long. Games and activities will also take place on the beach prior to the start of the movies. The games and activities are set to start at 7:30pm est and the movies are set to go on around 8:30 on a 16 foot projector.

Movies on the beach are presented free of charge, so get there early to get a good spot on the beach.

The movies will be shown at  the beach at 27th Street in Ocean City, Maryland.

Here are a list of movies and dates:

June 28th- Monsters vs. Aliens
July 2nd- Kung Fu Panda
July 5th – Astro Boy
July 9th – The Spy Next Door
July 12th – Hotel For Dogs
July 16th – Surf’s Up
July 19- Shorts
July 23rd- Shrek the Third
July 26th- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
July 30th – Madagascar 2
August 2nd- Planet 51
August 6th  – The Bee Movie
August 9th – Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove
August 13th- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

For more information and a list of events go to http://ococean.com/events/family-movies-on-the-beach or call 800-626-2326

For those visiting Universal Studios in Orlando this summer, you will now be lucky enough to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Harry Potter theme park is the newest edition to Universal Studios in Orlando, which officially had its grand opening today, June 18th.

Since before I can remember movies have always been made into rides and interactive events with rides like Jaws, Terminator and even Indian Jones. However, the Harry Potter theme park is the first time a single book and movie series has been turned into an entire theme park equipped with themed architecture, roads, multiple rides, characters and even, themed shops. In fact, the new Harry Potter theme park even has a magic wand shop!

Watch how the filmmakers of the movies helped create the Harry Potter theme park world:

Today at the opening ceremonies there were some special guests present to welcome in the crowd…watch the video to find out who made it to the show!

Pirate Cruises are now being offered in Hilton Head, SC. Pirate cruises are family fun boat rides that set sail on a pirate adventure off the coast of Hilton Head, SC. These pirate cruises dress and tattoo (fake, of course) each kid to look like they are part of the official crew. The “official crew,” accompanied with a responsible adult, then embarks on a small boat trip to beat “Stinky Pete” to the treasure. But there is one problem – “Stinky Pete” stole the key. The hour and a half adventure is fun-filled with singing and dancing as the kids, aka the pirate crew, search for the loot and track down “Stinky Pete.”

Reservations are recommended for each of the 6 trips that are scheduled daily beginning at 9:30 am. Call 843-363-7000 to make your reservation.  The cost is $30 per person but “little pirates” under 2 cost $20. Pirates of Hilton Head recommends that you get to the boat, which is located right under the lighthouse in Sea Pines Resort, 20 minutes before the adventure starts in order to tattoo and dress the pirate crew.

For more information please visit http://www.piratesofhiltonhead.com or call 843-363-7000.

Here is a little pirate video to get everyone in the pirate mood!

For those vacationing in Las Vegas this week, be sure to check out the Natural History Museum. The Luxar Las Vegas hotel donated The Treasures of Egypt display to the museum after it closed its King Tut museum.  The Treasures of Egypt is a huge display, 4,000 sq ft to be exact, of 500 replica Egyptian artifacts. Some of the replicas that can be seen include a replica gold painted sarcophagus which can be found on top of the tomb of King Tut, King Tut’s burial chamber and many more. There are also interactive displays as well.

Check out this user generated video of the display at the Natural History Museum

The newest property that Sundance Vacations travelers can enjoy offers an abundance of activities and relaxation opportunities for every member of the family. Located in Escondido, in southern California, the Lawrence Welk Resort Villas is comprised of 600 acres of family vacation fun.

Your two-bedroom villa includes a full kitchen, dishwasher, coffee-maker, washer and dryer, air conditioning, cable and telephone. With 1,370 square feet of space, your villa is the perfect place to relax after experiencing all the on-site activities the resort has to offer.

Golfers will enjoy the two public courses at the resort, Oaks Golf Course and Fountains Golf Course, which was recognized by Golf Digest in their ranking of “Best Places to Play.” Between the The Fountains Course, measuring over 4,000 yards from the tournament markers, and The Oaks Course, a picturesque par three course, golfers of all ages and skill levels won’t have to go far to find the ideal golf outing. In addition to the scenic 36 holes of golf, the resort also has two practice greens and a chipping green.

A very unique feature of the resort is the 339-seat Welk Resort Theatre which features Broadway-style stage musicals. The theatre offers matinee luncheon buffet and evening dinner buffet seating, as well as performance only seating. Performances are put on 52 weeks a year, so no matter what time of year you go you’ll be able to enjoy live entertainment.

Lawrence Welk Resort Villas has a lot in store for those looking for fun in the water and poolside lounging. There are five recreation facilities on the resort. Combined they offer guests six pools (including a 7,000 sq ft lagoon-style pool), two water slides, a lap pool, a kid’s interactive splash zone and a number of hot tubs.

In addition to the water activities, there are two exercise rooms and four lighted tennis courts also on-site at the resort.

The on-site Canyon Grille offers you amazing dining for every meal of the day, with your choice of inside or outdoor seating. If you’re looking for a more casual bite to eat, there’s a Pizza Hut Express on-site, as well as a convenience market.

Of course, if you still have the energy after all the excitement and activities at the Lawrence Welk Resort, San Diego is a mere 30 miles away. With its Pacific Ocean beaches, an assortment of attractions, bustling nightlife in the Gaslamp Quarter and an abundance of dining, San Diego is only a short drive away.

Some of the attractions in or near San Diego: San Diego Zoo, Southern California Wine Country, miles of beautiful beaches, Disneyland, Sea World, Legoland, San Diego Wild Animal Park and Birch Aquarium.

Whether you’re looking for golf, sun, sights, live entertainment or a combination of all the above, the Lawrence Welk Resort Villas is the perfect get-away with something to ensure every one finds what they are looking for in a vacation.