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?

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?

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.

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?

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

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.

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!

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.

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.