Travel

Sundance Vacations Founders John and Tina Dowd are currently attending the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) conference in Orlando, Florida.

ARDA promotes the growth and development of the travel industry through a variety of capacities: Advocacy, Networking, Business Partnerships/Bridge-Building, Outreach, Knowledge, and Support/ Development. ARDA and its members are committed to the highest standards and ethics in resort, vacation, recreational, residential and community development for the benefit of the public.

The Dowd’s are at the conference receiving the latest industry news and learning new techniques that might be valuable to the company. While many companies have been forced to close their doors due to the recession and banking crisis, Sundance Vacations remains thankful for our position in the market. We value our customers and strive to ensure their happiness with our product.

Have you heard any good stories about the travel industry lately? Do you have any fresh ideas for Sundance Vacations?

Did you ever see someone blend a yard rake in a normal functioning kitchen blender? I know you’re probably thinking, yeah right! This is a true story. While attending the Social Media for Communicators Conference in Las Vegas I saw just that. Interested? www.willitblend.com.

Besides blending, the CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh also attended the conference and gave a great presentation on what Zappos is all about. According to Hsieh, the ultimate aim of the Zappos brand is to be the very best when it comes to customer service and consumer experience.

Hsieh firmly believes in creating a ‘wow’ experience for the customer and investing in a corporate culture that allows employees freedom and space. “If you get the culture right, then most of the other stuff, like great customer service or building a brand will just happen naturally”, said Hsieh. Zappos has formalized the definition of its culture into ten core values and employees are hired and fired based on those values. The company culture is different because it is not driven by the CEO or Management, but the employees who themselves determine how they want the culture to evolve.

Needless to say, Zappos has Sundance Vacations CEO Tina Dowd in a frenzy and willingly changing the corporate culture at Sundance Vacations. Just check out the corporate intranet!

Gosh, this conference sounds more like a seminar for women. With blenders and shoes, one would think. But, it was actually very fulfilling and taught me a lot about all the different types of social media, blogging, vlogging, and tweeting. I learned a lot about web strategy and building a successful brand for Sundance Vacations. Also about building an online newsroom, which is currently in the works. Don’t worry, this isn’t the last you’ll hear of social media. Pretty soon I have a feeling Sundance Vacations CEO Tina Dowd will be tweeting from the moon!

The conference was presented by Ragan Communications and the Public Relations Society of America. The conference was held at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas.

What companies have you been impressed by? What impressed you most?

Sundance Vacations helps travelers find affordable vacation options every day. Let us help you! As the economy slumps, it’s more important than ever to keep your spirits up! From a bubble bath and a refreshing glass of wine every now and then to a weekend getaway, you have to make sure that you’re destressing in the midst of all the chaos. When you neglect yourself, your work and your relationships can suffer. Don’t risk the disappointment of unhealthy relationships and feeling of being overworked. Make sure that you are making time for you! Trust us, you’ll feel great and you’ll notice the difference.

Even if you can’t take an Affordable Weekend Getaway with us, make some time in your busy schedule to relax. Read a book. Pick up a hobby. Go for a walk. It doesn’t have to be big, but it has to be something that will soothe your mind, body and spirit. It’s not about living in excess; it’s about living better and treating yourself to the things you deserve. Get Away – Take A Vacation!

How do you destress? Does vacationing really help you keep your mind off your everyday problems?

You go on vacation to relax. So why not go somewhere you can nestle by the fire with a good book, enjoy fine dining, take your chances at the local casino, or spend a day on the slopes. Let’s not forget the great shopping at nearby popular outlets either! Nestled in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Appalachian Mountains; the Poconos has been a prime vacation destination for almost a century. The Poconos has so much to offer, one of the best things being the Woodfield Manor.

The Woodfield Manor in Swiftwater, Pa is a boutique resort is located on 12 acres in the Pocono Mountains near the Mount Airy Casino. The resort offers Sundance Vacations’ travelers exclusive use of the 6 two room suites and 13 cottages on site. The resort often earns a perfect score from travelers. The Woodfield also offers fine dining at The Chophouse. The Chophouse was honored with the Best Chop in the Poconos award in 2008. The Chophouse promises to tantalize your senses.

It’s time you took a vacation where you could have fun, enjoy the scenery, and most importantly, relax! Look no further than the Poconos and the Woodfield Manor! Contact Sundance Vacations today to start planning your vacation!

We’re here at the Woodfield Manor in the Poconos Mountains, of Pennsylvania. This is Sundance Vacations first live blog. Sundance Vacations is holding their third customer service appreciation event. Dozens of customers have come out for a casual dinner and drinks to tell us what we are going great, and what we could do better. We asked customers what advice they had to offer to new clients who are considering Sundance Vacations. Check out what they had to say below.

I recently read a vacation article in USAWeekend about the importance of leaving work behind while on vacation. The article reports that nearly 25% of American workers check email and voice mail while on vacation. This is something John and I are intimately familiar with. Some of our management members are tempted to call the office and answer emails while they are supposed to be enjoying a vacation. Out of respect to their vacation time, we often try to intercept their calls and scold them for calling in. We feel confident in doing this because we believe we have built responsible teams who are quite capable of handling issues without them for a few days. We travel a lot, so we see the ugly results of checking email and voicemail while on vacation. Our kids definitely notice when we are preoccupied with work and it ruins the atmosphere that a family vacation is supposed to instill. They can feel ignored and unimportant if work infringes on “their” time. We don’t like this for our own kids or other’s.
So, what is the solution.
1. Set expectations. We have found that if we expect the business to function without us, it usually does.
2. Start by telling clients and co-workers you are away and designate an alternate contact person. When we do this we are amazed at how empowered our staff becomes to handle everything.
3. Ask your spouse and children to remind you to detach and disconnect from work.
4. If you have to check email/voicemail set a specific time and then resume your vacation. We find that the hour after the kids go to bed is a good time to check in without disturbing the flow of the vacation. But remember not to let issues bleed into other times.

We don’t always practice what we preach, but we try very hard. We have left work totally behind and it is very liberating and healthy. The CEO of the Stress Institute reminds readers that “taking time for vacations and leisure is not luxury. It is necessity. The chronic stress of work can lead to emotional and physical illness.”
We’ll be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this fall. I can assure you that John will be leaving the laptop and cell phone behind (if he wants to make it to our 16th anniversary that is.)

-Tina Dowd

The Sundance Vacations customer service division is trained and ready to answer a wide variety of client questions about our product. We recently came across a more unique type of question from one of our customers.  The blogger from New Jersey questioned how Sundance Vacations can stay in business by offering such economical vacations.  He was happy with the price but expressed concern that if the company continued to offer this pricing structure we would become insolvent.  The exact words were “bankrupt.”

Not to worry.  We have a healthy profit margin.  Although our gross revenue and profit continue to grow each year we also control our costs in many ways. The really simple explanation that many customers will understand is that we own (and therefore control the price of) a lot of our own vacation inventory in many of the most popular vacation areas.  Over the past 17 years we have often taken profits and re-invested in the future of the company by purchasing resort real estate when it was smart to do so.   The current economic downturn is actually a positive event for Sundance Vacations who is ready to scoop up deals as prices fall on real estate nationwide.

We also protect customers through our fee structure.  How does a fee structure protect customers?

Well, because we don’t incur all of the vacation expenses upfront, you don’t pay all of the expenses upfront.  See one of our very first blog posts on this subject:  http://sundancevacations.typepad.com/sundance_vacations_corpor/2006/10/fees_facts.html

The fee structure guarantees that the company will always have a revenue stream to fulfill vacations.  Do you have a particular question about Sundance Vacations that you want answered?  Send it to pr@vacmail.com or simply reply with a comment to this post.

Hello from Chicago!

I must say, this is my second time in Chicago, and my feelings haven’t changed. I am in love with this city!! There is so much to see in my short stay here. But, for those of you who know me, I’m totally a little tourist at heart. I’m staying at the most amazing hotel ever…The Drake on the Magnificent Mile..Courtesy of John and Tina Dowd of course! I almost feel like McCauley Culkin in Home Alone, you know when he was lost in New York!! Although I’m having the greatest time, I am experiencing Sundance withdrawal! I miss my little desk in the middle of the hallway. So,  you’re probably wondering, what the heck is she doing in Chicago? Well, before you get your britches in a bunch…I’m currently attending a Corporate Communications Conference. Some of the seminars I have monitored so far include: Smarter, Faster Communications in the New Millennium, Small photo budget, big image impact, Web 2.0 to keep up with and join the conversation, How to write a big story in a little time, etc. So does that answer your question? Yes..I am working!! While at the conference, I’ve realized that I have a hard time speaking up in a room full of people, especially when there are really important people in the room. It’s kind of like being scared to ask a question in high school, because you think it might be stupid to someone else. I took a chance today, and actually asked some questions. Would you believe that there were people who thanked me, because they were also curious about the same thing. It was a great lesson.. I have learned so many useful communication tools that I can’t wait to bring back to Sundance.. Well, it’s just about dinner time, and some Chicago style deep dish pizza sounds phenomenal! Humm…I wonder how many points this will cost me. Its a good thing I’m skipping weight watchers this week!

Do you have any ideas on what would make the communication better or easier at Sundance Vacations? Why do you think everyone is so afraid to speak up during meetings with the "big" people?

-Amanda

As employees, we have the benefit of using the properties Sundance Vacations has available.  Are you taking advantage of this opportunity?  If so, do you find it helps when dealing with clients? 

When I worked in the New Client Services Department, the fact that I use the program (10 vacation weeks to date) was a tremendous help when I was speaking with new clients who didn’t know what to expect.   My favorite example when speaking with clients was to tell them about the very first vacation I used, at The Myrtle Beach Resort in South Carolina. 

I was able to book the accommodations from the excess inventory list, so I got a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit for only $198.00.  When I told clients about that, they started to get excited and see the value of excess inventory.  I was doubly lucky, because since I had the extra bedroom, I invited my mother to come with me and my children. She was so excited that she paid for all of the gas for the trip and then she even bought the groceries!  It was a good feeling to walk in to the unit and hear my mother go on and on about how nice it was.  She couldn’t believe it was so inexpensive.

The resort was beautiful and we liked it so much that we’ve been back two more times.  Also, my mother is always looking at the excess list to book a vacation for herself and her husband.  It’s nice, because she was skeptical at first and now she has every confidence that she’ll stay in a nice place.

I always find it easier to answer questions about Sundance Vacations because I have first hand experience.  What do you think?   

Vacations are supposed to be a time to relax, right?  So I find it funny, that many travelers find the need to fill every minute of their vacation with stuff to do.  Ok, I admit it, sometimes I’m one of those people.

I guess I was pretending to be a Pocono tourist this past weekend.  I crammed my weekend full.  After biking for 13 miles on Saturday in the Lehigh Gorge State Park (see my previous post) we did indeed go rafting on Sunday.  For $55 per person my daughters and I spent the day paddling on the Lehigh.  We went with Pocono Whitewater Adventures on Route 903 (1-800-whitewater).  The weather turned chilly overnight after a warm and pleasant day on Saturday.  Asking for two good weather days in a row is apparently out of the question.

We rented full wetsuits.  They stunk like sweat or mold or both.  Mine was, well, wet when I put it on which was unfortunate because although I was quite willing to get wet I would have preferred to do it at the river. 

We chose to raft the Gorge section of the river where the rapids are a little more exciting instead of the family float.  Our group was small, just 4 rafts.  We geared up, boarded the bus and were transported to Drake’s Creek to launch our rafts.

Launching our rafts was probably the most dangerous part (for broken ankles).  We had to heave our raft through a washed out gully, balancing each step on river rocks. The river guides said a major flood caused the damage.  Thankfully two other adults were added to our raft because my two young daughters and I would have had trouble getting the raft to the water in those conditions.

Finally, we were launched.  Morgan and Madison upfront, two teachers from Bethlehem in the middle and me in the back.  Somehow I got the job of captain. Within 3 minutes of working on the river, we were all hot!  That’s right working.  We’re paddling, we’re steering and we’re bailing.

I definitely had the wrong image of rafting.  They instructed us back at the rafting center to leave everything in our cars (dry clothes, dry towels, cameras, cell phones, etc).  I did.  I thought that things could get wet, through some splashing etc.  I had no idea that water was going to seep into the bottom of the boat or worse yet, that we were going to hit “45 minute” rock and have water fill our entire raft!  There’s no time to bail when your running the rapids and trying to avoid rocks but when we got to flat water, we bailed and bailed and bailed.  At least the heavy water pushed us off “45 minute rock” very quickly.  Apparently it’s called 45 minute rock because it’ll take 45 minutes to get rescued or freed from the rock.

Although my daughters were disappointed that they didn’t get to go for an unexpected swim, I’m thankful that they stayed in the raft the entire time.  I got dumped out twice (once when we stopped abruptly, (of course on a rock) and the other time when I was ruddering in the back and just rolled out.

My girls loved the trip.  It was a real life roller coaster.  They loved the class III rapids.  I would not go if the river was any lower, in fact, if we go again we’re going to watch for special water releases.   I think fall is a good time to go rafting.  The water is still warm and the river is not too low.

In closing, let me say that it is a long day.  We arrived at the rafting center before 9:45 am.  I don’t remember what time we actually got on the river (who can check their watch when they are desperately trying not to break their ankle).  We got off the river around 3:30 and were back at our cars at about 4:00 pm.

Every muscle in my upper body hurts (my shoulders, neck, obliques, forearms, pecs, just everything!).  I tried aiming the jets of a Jacuzzi on my shoulders.  I applied BenGay and finally I took an Advil.  Obviously, I tried to muscle the river too hard.  Maybe we should have tried throwing the paddles in the boat and letting the river just take us.

Rafting while on vacation has its advantages; you don’t have to use a sick day the day after.  How about you?  Have you ever felt like you needed a vacation after you had a vacation or participated in a "leisurely" activity? Let us know…

Tina Dowd