Sundance Vacations
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Sundance Vacations is a travel company that specializes in wholesale accommodations. The company is headquartered in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and maintains offices in six other locations including; Rockaway, NJ; Princeton, NJ; King of Prussia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Downers Grove, IL, and Brookfield, WI.
The company services approximately 60,000 travelers through its vacation accommodations network. Sundance Vacations received the 2005 Torch Award from the Better Business Bureau of Northeast and Central Pennsylvania. The Torch Award is bestowed on a company that demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction and marketplace ethics. The standards to win the award are that the business must respond to a complaint—it does not mean that any complaints were satisfied. Each Sundance office currrently has several complaints listed on the Better Business Bureau.
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[edit] Marketing Practices
The company gains permission to telephone or email potential clients through a yearly sweepstakes, the winner of which can choose the car of their choice up to $70,000 MSRP, the Ultimate Sports Giveaway or $50,000. The 2006 drawing will take place before February 1, 2007. Sundance Vacations does not sell the list of sweepstakes entrants to any other company. For Full Details and legal terms and conditions visit www.sundancevacations.com. Completion of the entry form permits sales calls to bypass the national DO Not Call list.
Sweepstakes participants who are over 21 years of age and have an annual household income of over $25,000 per year are invited to attend a brief 60 minute introduction about the company. Clients are offered a promotional gift in exchange for their time and attention.
The current offer is a vacation certificate valid for two nights' accommodation at 600 select Marriott properties nationwide. The vacation certificate covers the room rate only. The traveler is responsible for tax and a refundable security deposit of $50.00. Advance reservations are required and some black out dates apply. A $500.00 Internet shopping certificate is offered as a bonus. Recipients are responsible for the shipping and handling on the items they choose at www.goshoppingmall.com. Visit www.sundancevacations.com/FAQ for full details. The shipping and handling fees are greater than the retail and ordinary shipping cost of the item if purchased elsewhere.
[edit] Sales Practices
Sundance Vacation staff members conduct a presentation about vacationing with Sundance Vacations. The group presentation lasts 45 minutes and utilizes a slide presentation and a short film. The last 15 minutes are reserved for individual questions. Many potential customers are not presented with all of the financial information needed regarding costs and are told the offer is good for one night only.
The company has vacation packages in a variety of quantities to fit most budgets. Sundance Vacation’s travelers choose vacation destinations through the company’s large network and inventory of vacation properties. Some of the most popular destinations include places where real families take vacations like; Orlando, many beaches including Hawaii, New Jersey and Maryland beaches, Myrtle Beach, East, West and Panhandle coasts of Florida, Mountain destinations in Colorado and Idaho, The Poconos, PA, Wisconsin Dells and Tennessee. Availability limitations and peak charges may apply.
[edit] Allegations of scamming
The offers presented by Sundance Vacation are considered to be a lottery scam by many.
The conditions on the offer include spending at least an hour in the offices of the company listening to travel packages they offer, which include spending around $10,000 to $30,000 for vacations over many years. Some people claim satisfaction with the company, while others feel that the offer is a waste of time and to have been manipulated into spending large sums of money instead of just receiving a prize.
There are no claims that the $1000 offer is itself false; the unsatisfied (potential) customers only claim that the high pressure sales techniques were used on them.
