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Brenden from New York, New York said,
“Sundance seperates gullible anxious people from their money. A company this shady probably wopn’t be in business in what 1-2 years? So why do you think you can vacation in 5 7 or 9? All lures, ( do they ever give a car away? by nature say - ripoff. Avoid Sundance and join me in submitting complaints to get them shut down.”

We appreciate everyone’s opinion. Brenden states that “Sundance separates gullible, anxious people from their money.” Our customer base ranges from Doctors and professional business people to average middle-income blue collar workers. We service 75,000 travelers nationwide.

Brenden adds, “A company this shady probably won’t be in business in what 1-2 years.” Sundance Vacations has been in business since 1991. We have been able to grow every year over the past 18 years because we are committed to our customers and because the company provides a legitimate product. All staff members including telemarketing and sales are held to the highest standards. They are required to follow company policy and are monitored regularly to guarantee compliance. Sundance Vacations earned the Call Center of Distinction Award in 2008 as a result of frequent anonymous testing of our telemarketing practices by the Association of Teleservices International. The company is also a highly rated member of the Better Business Bureau. We address every customer complaint to the satisfaction of the customer. Sundance Vacations won the NEPA Torch Award in 2005 for demonstrating ethical business practices. The company was honored at the Stevie Awards in 2007 for Best Overall Company, and was named #8 Best Place to Work in Pennsylvania in 2007. We hope that providing you with factual information on Sundance Vacations will cause you to reconsider.

Brenden also questions whether or not Sundance Vacations ever gives a car away. We hold an annual drawing for people who have signed up for the Sundance Sweepstakes. The winner has the opportunity to choose from a brand new luxury vehicle, an Ultimate Sports Giveaway, or the $50,000 in cash. This year (2008) we had a graduate student from Batavia, Illinois take the $50,000 cash. The following URL will take you to the most recent winner. http://www.sundancevacations.com/previous-winners.html So, I guess you’re right about one thing Brenden, we haven’t given a car away, because as Founder John Dowd states, “They all take the cash.”

If we have failed you in any way we would like to assist you with your problem, please call 1-888-257-8400.

Sundance Vacations has a new home. The company will move their corporate headquarters on June 13^th. The new corporate address is 264 Highland Park Boulevard, Wilkes-Barre, Pa 18702. The new office is actually a hop, skip and a jump away from the previous Sundance Vacations office. All phone numbers will remain the same, so don’t worry there isn’t any extra work for you. Just make sure you take notice to the new address. Sundance Vacations is proud to be moving into a bigger building. The company is growing rapidly, hiring more and more employees each day, so as you can imagine we needed more space. The new office is 47,000 sq. ft and Sundance Vacations will occupy about 17,000 sq. ft. The company plans to lease out the other remaining space. Sundance Vacations founders, John and Tina Dowd are sad to leave Kidder St, but happy that they are finally going to settle into an office that provides more room for growth and expansion if needed

What will you miss about the old Sundance Vacations office? Do you have any memories you would like to share?

Tina Dowd has developed yet another innovation at Sundance. While Chuck Reaves presented the idea, Tina decided to implement an e-newsletter. The e-newsletter was sent to employees to gather their ideas regarding different aspects of the company. The first e-newsletter was sent out on March 5^th. Troy Long a PM events manager was the first one to open the e-mail at 11:11pm, ironically it happened immediately after Tina Dowd had sent it. Tina decided to award him with 1250 V-points for being so work oriented during after work hours. Tina held a random drawing using the ideas that were submitted and Candy Bednar, Tri-State Manager was the lucky winner. It didn’t hurt that Candy had submitted more than one idea either!! Candy was awarded with a four-night stay in Daytona Beach, Florida at Sierra Suites, a new home property. My advice would be to keep sending in ideas; you never know when Tina may surprise you with something!!

How does everyone like the newsletter? Make a guess on how much more revenue the company will generate or save because of this new and improved way of sharing ideas?

-Amanda-

You know we really act like family at Sundance Vacations and that includes a little teasing.  I asked Amanda to write a story about Scott Brunnenmeyer’s new position.  The position evolved and changed during our discussions with Scott and he went from a permanent relocation to the midwest to National Event Marketing Manager who would travel frequently to the midwest on business.  No one told Amanda the latest twist.  So, being the sweet person she is, she felt terrible that Scott was about to "leave" for the midwest without any fanfare or going away.  She bought a giant sheet cake and brought it to work on Monday.  Then she realized that Scott was NOT relocating to the Chicago area just going on a 3 day business trip.  It was the funniest thing.  She was humiliated but she shouldn’t be…. and we all had cake to celebrate his "business trip."

Come on, share some stuff and make Amanda realize she’s not the first or the last to be misinformed.   

Fees

Today I’d like to dispel the misleading rumor that after purchasing with Sundance Vacations, we surprise our unsuspecting clients with “hidden fees.”

Fees…Nope, They’re Not Hidden

Sundance Vacations provides informative group or individual presentations for all prospective clients.  Any fees are made apparent during each presentation.   The fees are introduced using a pre-developed slide presentation.  They are also written on a large display easel located at the front of the room.  Of course, the fees are disclosed in the contract but we also recap all of the fees in a straightforward one- page summary of the contract called the Consumer Disclosure Acknowledgement.   This one page summary makes it very easy for our customers to review pertinent details at a glance.

So, What are the Fees?

There are 4 fees that are not prepaid.  These fees are paid to Travel Advantage Network by the traveler when they use the vacations. 

1.      Annual service charge.  Many products and services have annual service fees similar to credit cards, country clubs, and gyms.  Our service charge can be paid annually or monthly at the convenience of our client.

2.      Processing Fee.  Clients pay a processing fee each time they make a reservation

3.      Peak Season Upgrade.  Clients purchase a standard package and only pay this fee when they travel during our peak season time.

4.      Additional Bedroom Upgrade.  Client may request a larger unit for an additional fee.

Fees, We’re Proud of Them

Have you traveled to the beach during summer, or taken a winter ski trip to the mountains?  Were you distressed at the inflated rates charged during those peak travel times?  Our clients now pay only $30.00 more per night when vacationing during our prime/peak season.

What about space? Have you ever needed more than one hotel room to accommodate your family?  Impersonal hotels charge full price for each accommodation and give you identical rooms connected by double locked doors.   Sundance clients may upgrade to a two or even three-bedroom suite (each extra bedroom sleeps two additional people) and at this time the cost is only $30.00 per night for each additional bedroom.

We view this as one of the great benefits.

Fees, How they Benefit Our Clients

We do not incur every expense upfront, so we don’t charge them upfront.  Our clients can hold onto their money longer, and only pay fees when they are incurred.  Because we collect fees, the corporation always has an incentive to fulfill vacation requests.  Collecting revenue over time through this fee structure ensures the company still has money coming in.  As a result, the fee structure functions as a built in protection for our clients.

Please Share

If you’d like to share on the corporate blog, please send your comments.  If you are interested in writing for our client blog (sharing your vacation experiences with other travelers) please email us at blog@vacmail.com or call me at 800-220-9400 x 130.

Kathy O’Mara

Communications Director