Happenings

According to an article posted on the New York Times website this week, tough airport screening procedures may get a face lift. After much scrutiny over security check point screenings at airports many different organizations (U.S. Travel Association and International Air Transport Association were specifically quoted) are proposing new procedures be put in place to give certain travelers the right to bypass those annoying and sometimes very intrusive airport screenings.

The article states that, “A crucial part of the group’s ‘checkpoint of the future’ proposal, and similar plans under discussion by other industry organizations, is creating a trusted traveler program that would allow passengers to undergo a background check to gain access to an expedited security lane at the airport.” The article goes on to say that travelers that want to be apart of the program will have to go through an application process, which will have certain fees attached to it, but in the end the travelers that are approved will be clear from the intrusive airport screenings.

Even though there are proposals on the table, the risks are not very far away. The fact that every country is different and has their own needs and resources, costs associated with making travelers feel safe and the ability to keep a certain level of privacy and protection of individual rights are all concerns that make changing the current procedures a long process. Making sure every “t” is crossed and “i” is dotted is a big deal when it comes to airport security.

While there are risks about creating a program like this; John Pistole, head of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), is open to ideas and understands the need for a trusted travelers program. A spokesman from the TSA said, “If people have ideas, [John Pistole] wants to hear them because he’s looking at ways to make changes.” Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation finished the article by being quoted saying, “For the first time since 9/11, I think we have the conditions where it might be politically possible to have a serious debate about [airport security]”

Read the full article here – http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/business/08security.html?_r=1

Being charity is one of Sundance Vacations’ core values we are constantly looking for ways to help out the community. Just recently the sales department stepped it up to help out the under privileged during the holiday season. This time our Dublin, Ohio sales office worked with the Columbus, Ohio Firefighters to collect and donate toys for children during Christmas. Dublin Sales Manager, Brian Kreindler said,  “Dublin Sundance donated the toys from our toy drive to the Columbus Firefighters for Kids Toy Drive yesterday (12/22). They were very happy to receive our donation of toys.  The toys go to underprivileged kids in the Columbus area.  Happy Holidays to all!”

Here is a list of other charities Sundance Vacations’ employees participated in, which totaled over $6000 in donations for the 2010 year:

Hazleton Marketing

• Gift of Life
• G Glove Foundation
• Catholic Social Services
• BMX Track
• United Way

Shamokin Marketing

• Rescue Fire Engine & Hose Company #3
• Susan G Komen NEPA Division

Tamaqua Marketing

• Rabbit Run Fish & Game Association

Wilkes-Barre Marketing/Sales/Administrative

• Ruth’s Place
• Domestic Violence Service Center
• Susan G Komen NEPA Division and 3 Day Walk for a Cure
• GNA Catholic Youth Group
• 1990 HHS Alumni for American Cancer Society
• Jr Achievement of NEPA
• Association for the Blind
• Salvation Army

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

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

In honor of National Travel and Tourism Week (May 8-16^th), we would like to say thank you to all the tourists and travelers out there who help support the industry year after year! National Travel and Tourism Week has been celebrated in the U.S. since 1984, when U.S. Congress designated the first week in May as the national holiday. Since then, the U.S. travel community has come together to celebrate the holiday through local rallies and events to raise awareness of the industry’s significance and impact on Americans nationwide.

As part of this year’s celebrations, the U.S. Travel Association is pairing up with local travel communities across the nation to put on the U.S. Travel Rally Day on Tuesday, May 11^th. The U.S. Travel Rally Day is designed to demonstrate travel’s impact on local workers, businesses and economies.

How exactly does travel and tourism contribute to local American communities? Thanks to the U.S. Travel Association, below are a few impressive facts on the importance of travel and tourism:

Travel and tourism is one of America’s largest industries.

In fact, the travel and tourism industry is one of the largest contributors of tax revenue for local, state and federal governments bringing in an average of $111 billion each year.

A recent study shows that American households would pay $950 more in taxes without the tax revenue generated by the travel and tourism industry.

The travel and tourism industry is one of America’s largest employers.

There are 7.4 million direct travel-generated jobs in the U.S., which has a total payroll of more than $186 billion.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, 1 out of every 9 American jobs is dependent on travel and tourism.

For more fun facts on the travel and tourism industry and information on how you can participate in National Travel and Tourism Week, visit www.ustravel.org.

Also, check out a few photos from our National Travel and Tourism Week celebrations on Flickr.

Do you know who won the 2009 Sundance Vacations Sweepstakes? The lucky winner is Sandy Yenyo from North Benton, Ohio. Sandy decided to go with the $50,000 cash. Do you want to get your name in the drawing for next year? Just fill out the Sundance Vacations sweepstakes form at any venue where you see a Sundance Vacations representative, OR you can visit our website at  http://www.sundancevacations.com/contact-1.html

The sweepstakes video is now live on Sundance Vacations’ YouTube Channel. You can access the video at: http://www.youtube.com/sundancevacations.

Sundance Vacations also posted photos from the check presentation on Flickr. These photos can be accessed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundancevacations/.

Enter now, and you could be the 2010 Sundance Vacations Sweepstakes winner!

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.

Imagine waking up under a pile of rubble or in a hospital all alone without your family. That’s how many people started their day on January 12th after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, just outside the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The lives lost, people injured, and families displaced are colossal.

People from around the world including many celebrities have made it a point that Haiti is in dire need of help! Ryan Seacrest held a telethon on CNN with Larry King called Haiti: How You Can Help. The benefit raised $8,944,956 for UNICEF and the American Red Cross to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Another telethon courtesy of Actor George Clooney will air on Friday, Jan. 22. Clooney will host the live telethon to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti. The telethon will air on all of the MTV channels worldwide, along with ABC, NBC, HBO, and CNN. The show will air 8-10 p.m. ET.  Be sure to tune in!

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are also on board to help Haiti victims.  With the help from President Obama, the duo agreed to lead a major fundraising effort for relief: the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. http://clintonbushhaitifund.org/index.php ONE HUNDRED percent of donations made to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, go directly to relief efforts. The website also gives three secure ways to donate.

Many employees from Sundance Vacations have helped the victims of Haiti. Sundance Vacations Marketing Manager Patty Barney donated to the American Red Cross, UNICEF, and YELE Haiti. “Giving money is the least I can do. I can only imagine waking up and having nothing, no food or water. It was my moral obligation to give what I could,” explained Barney. Administrative Assistant Natalie Cassarella also donated via text message. “I heard about donating and I thought what an easier way then directly from your cell phone,” said Cassarella.

Speaking of texting, there are plenty of ways. Including: Texting “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.  OR text the word “QUAKE” to 20222 to donate $10 to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, also charged to your cell phone bill.

If you haven’t yet, it’s easy to help. Please use the outlets provided and remember ANYTHING helps! One dollar, or one hundred, whatever you can give will make a difference!