Current Affairs

As a member of the US Travel Association we’ve been following the association’s efforts to launch a trusted traveler program for airline screening.  Yahoo news reported on the potential launch of the trusted traveler program for this fall.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110622/us_nm/us_usa_security_aviation

TSA has been under pressure to improve the security screening process and create a program for those business and frequent fliers willing to undergo prior security background screenings so they can speed through airport checkpoints.

“We’re working with airlines, U.S. carriers initially, to say for those who are willing to share information about themselves, what can we gain from that that would help us make informed judgments” about passenger security, TSA Administrator John Pistole told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

We remain cautious until the details regarding the extent of information that will be required in order to participate are released.  If the program is not too onerous certainly Sundance Vacation’s tens of thousands of frequent travelers will benefit.  “Excess inventory to drive to destinations flies off the excess list so if air travel becomes easier we can expect more fly to destinations to pick up in popularity,” says Sundance Vacations founder John Dowd.

We will continue to monitor this development for our travelers.

Despite travel falling as the largest target for fraud, the industry still deals with it on a daily basis with thousands of people ending up being the victims of credit card fraud. In order to prevent fraud from happening to you while you are on vacation, we put together a researched list of tips that can help you avoid credit card fraud:

• Use only one credit card while traveling.
• Keep a second one close by but in a safe place just in case the credit card you are using gets stolen.
• Keep all receipts!
• Check your credit card statements daily (even when you get home too!)
• Verfiy every purchase or charge made on your credit card.
• If you become the victim of credit card fraud, call the credit card issuer immediately! You most likely will not be held responsible for the attack.

The most important thing is to know what is being charged at all times and to verify those purchases. The sooner you know that fraud was committed the faster you can prevent any more fraudulent charges from happening.

An article was recently published on USA Today Travel titled “Three reasons why airfares are likely to rise” about exactly that – rising airfares! David Grossman, author of the article, writes “According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the average domestic airfare (excluding checked luggage and other ancillary fees paid after ticketing) jumped 13% from $301 to $341 in the second quarter of 2010 vs. the previous year. That $341 fare was 3.8% more than the previous quarter and represented the fourth consecutive quarterly fare increase.” This fact alone is scary but the article goes on to discuss reasons why airfares are rising which include: capacity cuts and rising demand, prolonged period of higher oil prices and changing business models for low-cost airlines. It may be obvious that there are more reasons as well but for the sake of the article the author only discussed three. Anyway whatever the case may be it does not look like travelers have much of an option when controlling fees or at least getting fairly cheaper rates than before.

However, as a wholesale travel provider Sundance Vacations offers bulk vacation packages that make saving on vacations similar to the way people save when they buy a case of soda instead of a can. Because of this increase in airfares, budget conscious travelers are seeking cheaper travel alternatives to help them save. In fact, last summer when prices originally spiked we saw a considerable jump in demand for drive to destinations and we predict the same for this summer as well.

Sundance Vacations has a lot of destinations on the east coast in areas such as the Jersey shore, Ocean City, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Hilton Head – all of which are within a days drive from any one of our east coast sales offices. When it costs double to fly anymore, consider driving to a Sundance Vacations destination – where you not only save on getting there but you save on the overall vacation as well.

Spirit Airlines thinks this is acceptable. What do you think? Sure it frees up the security lines a little bit and helps the lines move quicker but at what cost?  Spirit Airlines is charging $30  for those that pay in advance and $45 for passengers who wait until they get to the boarding gate to pay. Apparently Spirit offers the lowest prices compared to the rest of the airlines and they feel that the fees are not that big of a deal.

This new revenue model that airlines are putting into effect is one way to cut off the amount of bags passengers bring with them. One wonders if this will cause passengers to go to other airlines that do not charge a fee.  Do you think it will catch on with the bigger airline companies? Or will this be a blunder that goes down in the Spirit Airlines’ record  books? Post your opinions and comments below.

Check here to watch the news story to hear what other customers had to say Spirit Airlines News Story

From July 1st until August 31st, fans of the Sundance Vacations fan page on Facebook had the opportunity to submit a favorite vacation photo for a chance to win a  four day/three night cruise for 2 to a choice of either the Bahamas or Mexico. The trip included a round trip airfare for 2 not to exceed $800.00 in total airfare from any major airport originating from eligible states, 1 night stay in the port city, a departure from Miami or Port  Canaveral Florida for the Bahamas or a departure from Los Angeles California for Mexico.

For two months fans submitted their stories and favorite vacation photo for a chance to win! Once the submission period was over on August 31st, the voting period was open for three weeks. Fans rushed to vote for their favorite vacation photo and story. Just this past Wednesday on September 22nd Jennifer Clark of Carlisle, PA was crowned the winner with the most votes. Congratulations to Jennifer Clark!

Here is the vacation photo that Jennifer submitted for the contest. The photo was taken at Ocean City with her son.

Sundance Vacations spices up the Mohegan Sun’s patio deck concert series.  Sundance has teamed up with 105 The River and Mohegan Sun for their concert deck series giving away 1000 dollars in free play at their outdoor concerts.  Fans of local bands lined up for their chance at their shot of winning casino free play.  Be sure to tune in to 105 The River to hear about the great promotions that we are doing at the Casino.

$500 Winner Michael Kretschner

(Photo Coming Soon!)

$100 Winners Joanne Tenneriello and Rose Kucharski

$100 Winner Frank Galella

$100 Winner David Callarini

$100 Winner Barbara Armbruster

On the weekend of July 23rd through the 25th Scott Brunnenmeyer, Director of Operations, joined the nation in honoring the fallen and wounded soldiers at the Families United National Weekend of  Remembrance as Sundance Vacations sponsored the Weekend event.

The event kicked off on Friday night with the Gold Star Family dinner in Washington DC. Families United invited all families that had lost a soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan, which brought over 500 families throughout the country. They bring these families through various events throughout the year; this being the largest event. This was a formal event that seated families together by state for an evening honoring their Heroes and allowing them to share their stories with each other. Among the families at the dinner were top ranking officials, 3 star Generals, Admirals and a keynote by Vice Joint Chief Of Staff General James E. Cartwright.  Wayne Newton, with the USO, also performed at the dinner for the Fallen Soldiers’ families. The honorable Scooter Libby was also present for the dinner.

Scott, who is also a Captain in the Army, said that, “It is amazing to see such great family oriented organizations like Families United that will continue to support the fallen soldiers’ families. It gives great reassurance that if something ever happened that my family would have great support.” On Saturday, they had a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which Scott said was “the most emotional part of the whole weekend.”

Following the event in the Arlington Cemetery, there was a  “Hero’s Festival” and concert by country singer Aaron Tippin  at Six Flags America. At the festival the families were able spend time with Armed Service members and enjoy a hot and fun-filled day at the amusement park. Throughout the day there were moments of silence and a lunch/picnic for the families.

On Sunday there was a final service at Washington National Cathedral. Many families stayed to attend the nations largest most respected cathedral for a religious service. Throughout the whole weekend across the country many businesses and news stations were taking time to remember our fallen heroes as well. Scott said that “ I am greatly moved that Sundance Vacations decided to sponsor the event and that I was able to be there for it all.”

For more information on Families United check out the website FamiliesUnitedMission.com. The website lists events and ways to get involved. The next event being held is the Pennsylvania Gold Star Family Luncheon, which will be held in Philadelphia on August 14th.

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 employees including Sundance Vacations President John Dowd recently attended the Best Places to Work awards ceremony in Hershey, PA.  Sundance Vacations was named one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania for 2009. The company finished among the top 30 in the statewide employee poll for large-sized companies (251 or more employees).

“Sundance Vacations provides a stable career for hundreds of PA employees. Despite the current recession, great things are happening at Sundance Vacations – including making the Inc. 500/5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies this year, said Sundance Vacations Founder Tina Dowd. “We’re honored that our employees have also named us as one of the Best Places to Work in PA. We’ll be celebrating these achievements and many more at our annual awards gala in two weeks,” added Dowd.

Congratulations Sundance Vacations employees!!

No SCAM here.

We go to crazy efforts to maintain the highest levels of honesty among the Sundance Vacations staff members.  This means silent monitoring for the telemarketing staff, secret shoppers for our lead generators and videotaped presentations for our sales staff.   Everyone who knows us also knows that we like to get feedback both good and bad about their Sundance Vacations experience.

A few nights ago we got a call from an acquaintance.  “I just got a call from one of your telemarketers and they told me I won a free cruise from Sundance Vacations.  I thought you should know,” she said.

“Yeah, thanks.  Can you tell me who it was so I can fire him or her.  They are definitely not allowed to say won,” thanked John.

“Not allowed to say won?  But what about the free cruise”, she asked in surprise? “They shouldn’t be able to tell people they are getting a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas from Sundance Vacations.”

“Let’s start from the beginning.  It’s important that you be specific.  Did one of my staff members use the word won,” John questioned?

“They said I was picked for a free cruise from Sundance,” clarified our friend.

“Did you specifically hear the word free?  Didn’t they tell you that you’d be responsible for some taxes and fees?” asked John.

“ Yeah, they said $200 bucks a person and that I had to come to your office to listen to a presentation.  So you mean to tell me the person was telling the truth?  If I come over to your office, listen to a sales pitch, I’ll get a free cruise to the Bahamas,” she asked incredulously?

“No, not a fee cruise,” he keeps correcting her.

“Ok, whatever.  So you don’t care if I make an appointment to get the free cruise? I don’t have to buy anything?”

“No, of course not.  But stop saying free cruise,” he reminds her.

This conversation illustrates the exact problem that we face each and every day when communicating verbally with millions of travelers.  Sundance Vacations is truthful and honest in those communications but today’s very causal listeners are apt to paraphrase for ease of repeating just as our friend did.

Searchers can find seething comments claiming to unveil Sundance Vacations as a scam.   Unaware, consumers read a slanderous or false post and then unknowingly add to the misconception by typing, “ I knew this was a scam.”  In this next example a poster writes, “I researched the program and found out that my “free” and “won” cruise will cost over $800 dollars if it happens at all.”  Unfortunately, by “research” the person is referring to anonymous, inaccurate, unofficial, casual, paraphrases found on the Intranet.

When trying to judge for yourself whether Sundance Vacations is a scam these are the facts that you can consider. 

Sundance Vacations has been in business since 1991.  That’s an 18 year business history.

Sundance Vacations was awarded the Torch Award from the Northeast and Central Pennsylvania Better Business Bureau in 2005.  The Torch Award is given to a company that demonstrates ethical behavior.  During the Torch Award process we were “secret shopped” by the BBB director at that time.  He visited our office and personally congratulated Sundance Vacations on honest communications through-out his entire test.  Some bloggers will say that we somehow bought the Torch Award.  That’s just a slanderous lie.

Sundance Vacations is a member of the Better Business Bureau in every state that we operate in.  We maintain a high grade with the BBB.  We are not complaint free.  Any organization that interacts with more than a million consumers every year is going to generate some unavoidable complaints.  We address every complaint that we become aware of and solve them to the customer’s satisfaction.

We have won awards from our industry trade groups.  We are the recipient of several “Call Center of Distinction” awards from the Association of Teleservices International.  Again, this involves secret calls to our telemarketing staff to determine if they are staying on script.  Nay-sayers would also claim that we are somehow cheating in this achievement.

We have been named one of the Best Large Company’s to Work for in Pennsylvania for three years in a row and one of the Best Company’s to Work for in Illinois.   We employ hundreds of employees nationally.  Again, I’m no expert but being an educated businessperson I believe that keeping a scam secret from the authorities would be pretty difficult to do.  In 18 years wouldn’t at least one employee have blown the whistle, like at Enron. 

The fact is, THERE’S NO SCAM HERE.  Sorry to disappoint.  Any consumer who reads the frequently asked questions on the Sundance Vacations website will have a great experience with the wholesale vacation company.