The Sundance Vacations travel community is elated! The U.S. celebrated a major victory recently when President Obama signed into law the first-ever national travel promotion and communications program to attract more international travelers to the U.S. This is a major step in addressing America’s decline in attracting overseas visitors to the U.S. during the past decade.
According to the US Travel Association, “The Act is in response to worrisome evidence that the U.S. is losing ground to other countries in the global travel market. The U.S. welcomed 2.4 million fewer overseas visitors in 2009 than in 2000, and the failure to simply keep pace with the growth in international long-haul travel since 2000 has cost the U.S. economy an estimated $509 billion in total spending and $32 billion in direct tax receipts, according to the U.S. Travel Association. The Travel Promotion Act will counteract this trend by creating a campaign to promote the United States as a premier destination and explain changing travel security policies to foreign visitors.”
“By signing the Travel Promotion Act, President Obama has acted to support the power of travel to serve as an economic stimulant, job generator and diplomatic tool,” said Roger Dow, president & CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “This program will create tens of thousands of American jobs and help reverse negative perceptions about travel to the United States.” (US Travel Association Press)
Oxford Economics estimates that a successful national promotion will yield $4 billion in new spending annually, create 40,000 new jobs and generate $321 million in new tax revenue each year. The Congressional Budget Office reported that the Travel Promotion Act would reduce the federal deficit by $425 million over ten years!! For more information about the Travel Promotion Act, please visit www.poweroftravel.orgorwww.ustravel.org.
Sundance Vacations couldn’t be more excited! We welcome all international travelers to visit the plethora of Sundance Vacations properties located throughout the U.S, Mexico, and the Caribbean. What is your favorite Sundance Vacations property? www.sundancevacations.com
Sundance Vacations will host the Northeastern Pennsylvania Customer Service Consortium quarterly meeting at their corporate headquarters at 264 Highland Park Blvd. Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702. The meeting will take place on February 10th from 8:30am-11:00am.
The keynote speaker for the meeting will be Dennis Bonvie, former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey player and owner of Bonvie’s Blue Chip Gourmet at University Corners, downtown Wilkes-Barre. Bonvie will discuss the integral role customer service plays in building and sustaining business, how he views customer service in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and what lessons from his hockey days he has carried with him as an entrepreneur.
Although Sundance Vacations President John Dowd has been attending the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) meetings for the past 18 years, he recently joined the organization. ARDA is a Washington D.C.-based professional association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries. Established in 1969, ARDA has approximately 1,000 corporate members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded companies and international corporations with expertise in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate.
ARDA promotes the growth and development of the timeshare/vacation ownership industry through a variety of capacities: Advocacy, Networking, Business Partnerships/Bridge Building, Outreach, Knowledge, and Support and Development.
Sundance Vacations wasn’t a member of ARDA in the past, simply because it was more focused on timeshares. The industry is constantly changing, and ARDA now fits the Sundance Vacations product better. ARDA is redefining leisure travel. According to ARDA, “With today’s evolving vacation home market, consumers have an increasingly diverse marketplace and options in leisure travel; the growing variety of vacation home options includes Timeshare/Vacation Ownership; Fractional Ownership/Private Residence Clubs; Destination Clubs; Condo Hotels; and Traditional Second Home Ownership.”
Sundance Vacations recently teamed up with Dun and Bradstreet. D&B is a financial rating company that is the world’s leading source of commercial information and insight on businesses, enabling consumers to decide with confidence. D&B has been in business for the past 167 years.
The Dun and Bradstreet website report will display financial details on Sundance Vacations including: trade payments, history and operations, public filings, risk of financial stress, risk of payment delinquency, supplier evaluation risk, credit capacity, and financial overviews. Sundance Vacations holds one of the highest financial ratings with D&B.
“Through Dun and Bradstreet customers can feel confident about the financial stability of Sundance Vacations,” explained Sundance Vacations Founder Tina Dowd.
For more information, please visit the Sundance Vacations corporate website at www.sundancevacations.com and click on the D&B logo at the bottom of the homepage.
Sundance Vacations is a finalist in THREE categories in the 4th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, an international competition recognizing excellence in disciplines that are crucial to business success. The company became finalists in the following categories: Sales Director of the Year-Shane Lewis, Best Sales Team-Hospitality and Tourism, Best Contact Call Center-Sundance Event Marketing.
The awards are presented by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious American Business Awards.
Stevie Award winners will be announced during a gala banquet on Monday, February 22 at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Sundance Vacations representatives will be in attendance for support and to hopefully bring home a Stevie Award.
More than 500 entries were submitted to this year’s competition. There are 27 categories for customer service professionals and 41 categories for sales professionals.
Wish Sundance Vacations best of luck as they prepare to attend the February 22nd Gala in Miami Beach.
Sundance Vacations hosted the Northeastern Pennsylvania Customer Service Consortium Leadership team at their corporate headquarters located at 264 Highland Park Blvd. Wilkes-Barre, Pa 18702.
The NEPA Customer Service Consortium is a core leadership group that is charged with planning networking events where all NEPA companies can come and share best practices in Customer Service.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Sundance Vacations Founder Tina Dowd, provided advice on how Sundance Vacations struggles with online reputation management. “Anyone’s brand can be high jacked. I was happy to share the Sundance Vacations unique experience in how to fight online slander,” explained Dowd.
Some of the leading local companies in attendance were: Frontier Communications, Vector Securities, TMG Health, Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, and Penn State University-Wilkes-Barre.
Customer Service leaders with exceptional reputations in their communities will converge again at the next meeting to be held on February 10th at the Sundance Vacations corporate headquarters.
Are you looking to book a vacation? Are you anxious to see the Excess Inventory list? Gosh, website redesign can be a pain in the neck! Our sister company Travel Advantage Network who currently fulfills all vacation requests and needs for Sundance Vacations is undergoing website redesign.
The new site is going to be so much more beneficial to customers. The site will feature a new career area, property listings with better and more up-to-date photos, and customers will now be able to search by city, resort, region, and start date! The site is set to launch on January 8th, 2009!
Until the TAN website is complete, please call 1-800-976-6968 to hear an automated listing of excess inventory and contact 1-800-223-0088 ext. #3 to speak to a reservationist.The reservationist will be able to give information about the inventory, take requests, check availability, and book a location for you.
If you have any questions, you may call New Client Services at 1-800-264-3802, Mon. - Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. or TAN at 1-800-223-0088 Mon. - Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sundance Vacations Brookfield Sales Director Sean Agnew attended the Wisconsin BBB Business to Business Expo
Sundance Vacations recently attended the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau’s annual meeting in combination with a Business to Business Expo event. Over 77 local and nationwide businesses across the state of Wisconsin showcased their services and products in a trade show held by the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. Everything from free massages to a gourmet chef cooking samples was made available for all attendees.
Center Director for the Sundance Vacations Brookfield sales office, Sean Agnew, got to dive into his new surroundings by essentially promoting the Sundance Vacations wholesale vacation product. “No matter what displays or giveaways were available the most exciting thing talked about throughout the event was the inexpensive vacation product that Sundance Vacations offers,” explained Agnew. Agnew encouraged attendees to make an appointment and come in to the Sundance Vacations Brookfield sales office. Out of all the great refreshments and snacks at the Wisconsin event the only thing Sean said he couldn’t find was cheese! Go figure.
Sundance Vacations Celebrates National Customer Service Week
Sundance Vacations has approximately 50,000 customers and we’re still counting! The company was founded in 1991 to provide quality vacations at a fraction of the retail rate. Travel choices are endless in this destination-based program that enables customers the opportunity to vacation in many popular resort areas.
Did you receive outstanding customer service or have a great experience with the Sundance Vacations Customer Service Department? We would love to hear about it! Please share your experience with us by posting a comment below.
Sundance Vacations is the fastest-growing travel company in Pennsylvania according to Inc. 500/5000. The company was recently recognized by Inc Magazine as one of the nation’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America. While Sundance Vacations ranked 4,718 on the Inc. 500/5000 list, no other Pennsylvania travel business ranked higher than this Wilkes-Barre based wholesale travel company.
The 2009 Inc. 5000, revealed on Inc.com, serves as a unique report card on the U.S. economy. Despite the ongoing recession, aggregate revenue among the companies on the list actually increased to $214 billion, up $29 billion from last year, with a median three-year growth rate of 126 percent. The Inc. 5000 are responsible for creating more than one million jobs since their founding; making the list perhaps the best example of the impact private, fast-growing companies can have on the economy.
Sundance Vacations is honored to be a part of the Inc. 500/5000. The company’s growth despite the on-going recession was recently noted in a Wilkes-Barre local newspaper The Times Leader by reporter Ron Bartizek. Bartizek beat Inc. 500/5000 to the punch with his piece “Sundance finds a Sweet Spot in our Sour Economy”. “While the daily economic news continues to be gloomy, this recognition is a bright spot for Sundance Vacations and our 700 national employees,” explained Sundance Vacations President John Dowd.
Sundance Vacations executives will attend the Inc. 500|5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony held in September at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The conference held by Inc. and Inc.com celebrate the remarkable achievements of today’s entrepreneurial superstars—the privately held small businesses that drive our economy. Inc. 500|5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony brings together members of the Inc. 5000 community, both a new class of Inc. 5000 honorees and the list’s alumni, for three days of powerful networking, inspired learning, and momentous celebration.
Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found on Inc.com.
