Recent Happenings

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

According to the Stevie Awards, “Organizations that focus on their customers can survive and thrive in tough economic times.” Sundance Vacations proved the focus is clearly on our customers after recently accepting a Stevie Award at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach, Fl on February 22nd. Sundance Vacations won the award for Sales Department of the Year-Hospitality and Tourism at the 4^th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. This is the second consecutive year that Sundance Vacations was honored with this award. The company was also a finalist for Sales Director of the Year (Assistant VP of Sales-Shane Lewis) and Contact Call Center of the Year (Over 100 seats). More than 500 entries were submitted to this year’s competition, which includes 27 categories for customer service and 41 categories for sales.  Congratulations to Sundance Vacations!

Do you think companies who are more customer oriented have a better chance at survival in a recessed economy?

According to the U.S. Travel Association’s website (www.ustravel.org) the organization sent a letter late last week to Senate leaders with proposals to help put people back to work as part of its continued push to use travel as a means to create jobs and stimulate the economy. The recommendations include travel-related tax deductions, hiring of additional consular officers and creating a promotion program aimed at attracting more international travelers.

Travel is directly responsible for 7.7 million American jobs, and another 10 million jobs are indirectly related to travel, making it one of the largest employment sectors in the country. According to the U.S. Travel Association, the industry lost nearly 400,000 jobs the past two years, but current modest projected growth of two-to-three percent this year will create about 90,000 jobs.

For more information and to read the letter visit:  http://www.ustravel.org/news/press-releases/us-travel-delivers-job-creation-proposals-congress

Sundance Vacations certainly supports the U.S Travel Association’s proposal. What do you think? Does travel have the ability to stimulate the economy?

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.

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.

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!