Philadelphia

Congratulations to Kandi Mell of New Jersey!!!

Do you love all of the snow that has recently hit Pennsylvania? If so, Sundance Vacations has a property in the Pocono’s, PA. The Woodfield Manor is a snow lover’s dream come true during the winter months. Just minutes away from some of the best ski slopes such as: Jack Frost Mountain, Alpine Mountain, and Camelback Ski Resort the Woodfield Manor is the place to stay during the cold winter months. Don’t like to be adventurous? Stay inside and eat beside the fireplace at the Chophouse restaurant right on site. Sundance Vacations guests have wonderful things to say about the Woodfield Manor. “We had a delightful time at the cottages on the property. They were very clean and cozy. The gas fireplace was such a great asset to keep the relaxed atmosphere. Dinner at the Chophouse was beyond words. Food was mouth wateringly delicious! Especially the dessert of the hour, peach cobbler. Everyone was so nice and kind. I have nothing bad to say! We will be coming back as soon as we can,” explained April K. of Allentown, PA. We know that many people have raved about the Woodfield Manor, but you know what they say, “you just have to see for yourself.” www.woodfieldmanor.com

Maybe you are sick of the snow and just want to go somewhere warm and sunny? One can dream right? Well, stop dreaming and make it a reality. Check out the numerous Sundance Vacations properties at www.planwithtan.com

Have you ever vacationed with Sundance Vacations? Did you stay at the Woodfield Manor? Let us know about your Sundance Vacations experience.

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, for the second year in a row, participating in the Tax Refund Program. The Tax Refund Program was created to help potential customers travel more during tough economic times.

The Tax Refund Program allows customers to use their tax refund toward a travel package and get an equal credit from the company. Customers have the opportunity to choose any portion of their tax refund and apply the whole amount or any smaller portion to a vacation package. The credit you receive from Sundance Vacations is equal to the portion you apply toward a travel package. The tax refund benefits the customer because Sundance Vacations is actually doubling their refund.

The tax credit does exceed the actual purchase price. The maximum credit is the total amount of the tax refund. The actual credit is the amount the customer chooses to apply toward the purchase of a Sundance Vacations package. Customers are not eligible for cash back. In order to receive the credit, customers are required to provide a copy of their official refund check. The Sundance Vacations Tax Refund Special started at the beginning of the tax season. The program ends April 30, 2010.         

Please visit a local Sundance Vacations sales office for more information.

Sundance Vacations recently donated school supplies as well as three office desks to John Bartram High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The supplies donated will benefit students in grades 9-12. The supplies ranged from binders, pen and pencils, notebooks, folders, pencil sharpeners for the classroom, Sharpie markers, etc. In addition to the donation of school supplies, Sundance Vacations employees also donated three office desks to teachers at John Bartram High School. The donations were very much appreciated by the students and teachers alike. “Sundance Vacations understands that a brighter future for Philadelphia starts with the children in our school systems, especially the students at John Bartram High School,” said Assistant VP of Sales Shane Lewis.

Do you have any recommendations for the next Sundance Vacations donation?

Sundance Vacations recently teamed up with the Philadelphia Eagles Youth Partnership. The company participated in this year’s fundraising event themed “Flight Night”.

Sundance Vacations has been a proud supporter of the Eagles Youth Partnership (EYP) since 2007. The company has contributed more than $10,000 to the EYP organization. Sundance Vacations King of Prussia employees participated in Eagles Flight Night’s huge success which surpassed attendance and fundraising goals. The event brought more than 31,000 Philadelphia Eagles football fans from all across the region to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa on Aug. 2, raising more than a million dollars for the organization!

All funds raised at Eagles Flight Night benefit Eagles Youth Partnership’s (EYP) community programs. Eagles Youth Partnership serves over 50,000 low income children in Greater Philadelphia every year with an immense focus on health and education programming. EYP takes its services directly to kids at their schools and in their neighborhoods. These mobile services – the Eagles Eye Mobile and Eagles Book Mobile programs – are like wings on wheels, blending celebrity with fun in order to reach the hardest to reach children.

Sundance Vacations was proud to be a part of the fun at Eagles Flight Night, and we look forward to next years fundraiser.

The Better Business Bureau, one of the first organizations to rate businesses on their honesty and fairness to customers, has improved their rating system. The new and enhanced ratings are now shown as letter grades. The new business ratings are shown as letter grades A+ through F.

The letter grades provide more specific information for businesses to find suppliers and vendors, and at the same time provide a more precise guide to improving their own operations. The new ratings also help consumers to find trustworthy businesses. Previously the Better Business Bureau was using satisfactory and unsatisfactory ratings. The new grades give consumers a better idea of where a company stands with the public. The new letter-grade concept was tested for more than two years at selected BBB’s.

As part of its strategy to build trust in the marketplace, the Better Business Bureau also recently changed the way businesses affiliated with the organization were designed, from “BBB Member” to “BBB Accredited Business.” The “Accredited” designation highlights the fact that businesses have been evaluated by BBB and have contractually agreed to meet and uphold BBB’s high standards for integrity and reliability when dealing with customers. (BBB Alert, June 09, pg. 1)

Sundance Vacations is a member of the BBB in every market we operate in. The grades for each location are as followed: BBB of Washington DC and Eastern PA (Harrisburg, King of Prussia, and Wilkes-Barre): A-, BBB of Wisconsin (Brookfield): A+, BBB of New Jersey (Princeton, Rockaway): A+, BBB of Illinois (Downers Grove): A+.

For more information on BBB ratings and to find out ratings of local businesses, go to www.bbb.org.

Assistant VP of Sales Shane Lewis

King of Prussia Director Shane Lewis was recently promoted to Assistant VP of Sales. Shane has been with Sundance Vacations for the past six years. Shane’s new duties will consist of traveling from office to office, overseeing sales procedures and daily operations, and along with VP of Sales Mike Milillo heading the VIP Program. Don’t worry, Shane won’t retire his high energy sales podiums, he hopes to implement a training program to show every salesperson some tricks he’s learned along the way. “Having taken on the role as National Charity Director has enabled me to have close relationships with many salespeople as well as directors. This has made the transition so much easier,” said Lewis. Shane views King of Prussia as a role model and would like to get all other offices on the same playing field. He has plans of expanding practices and creative freedom throughout each of the seven sales offices.  Shane’s biggest beliefs are in hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and knowing that you get back what you give. “A-players bring A-effort,” commented Lewis. Harrisburg Sales Directors Mike and Barb Kasper will be taking over the King of Prussia office. “Barb and Mike are quite the duo. I worked with them during the Pittsburgh days, and I know they’re going to do great things in the KOP office,” explained Lewis. “I will miss everyone at King of Prussia. I’ll still be there, just not as much,” added Lewis. Shane has been such an influence on so many people and he is excited to just get started. “I would like to thank John and Tina Dowd, and Mike Milillo for always supporting me, putting their trust in me, and continuing to challenge me,” said Lewis. Congratulations Shane, we know you’ll do great!

Join me in wishing Shane good luck and congratulations!