Communications

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

Out with the old, in the new – this is our motto as spring arrives and we gear up for beach season. In the spirit of spring cleaning, we have launched a set of new social media communities designed specifically with our valued customers and supporters in mind. Our goal is to provide a place where you can swap tips with fellow travelers, get your questions answered, show-off your photos, and tell us what made your trip special.

We are excited to announce our official social media profiles and we look forward to connecting with you on a daily basis!

·         Our official Facebook Fan page is the ultimate platform to share your vacation experiences and memories. Post photos and videos from your trips, connect with other vacationers to exchange recommendations, and receive travel tips to ensure a smooth journey.  Become a fan to stay connected and be the first to receive Sundance Vacations updates. 

·         Our official Flickr page is also a great hub to share vacation photos and see all the incredible vacation destinations Sundance Vacations can take you.

·         For your viewing pleasure, Sundance has a new official YouTube channel! Check out our vacation videos and become a subscriber.  You can also watch videos of our sweepstakes winners and see what you can win by entering a Sundance Vacations’ contest.

·         You can also connect with us on Twitter @TravelSundance to receive vacation tips, travel promotions, and more. Traveling? Tweet us a picture of your trip and let us know what you are doing.

We will no longer be updating our other social media sites, so be sure to join our new official communities to keep up with the latest news and promotions. We have some exciting announcements in the works you won’t want to miss!

We encourage you to log on to our new official sites and share your own vacation memories today!

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.org or www.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 10^th 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.

Don’t miss the opportunity to talk with some of the best customer service teams in NEPA. To register for the meeting go to: http://nepacsc.ning.com/events/nepa-csc-quarterly-meeting

How would you rate the customer service department at Sundance Vacations?

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.”  

For more information visit www.arda.org

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 22^nd 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 10^th 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 8^th, 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.

Find Sundance Vacations on the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau site: http://www.bbb.org/wisconsin/business-reviews/travel-agencies-and-bureaus/sundance-vacations-in-brookfield-wi-6000212/