Part Two in a Two-Part Blog Post on Westgate Timeshare

Saturday’s Timeshare Owners Blog reported on David Siegel, CEO and founder of Westgate timeshare and Westgate Vacation Villas, who was found guilty last week by a federal court in Florida of sexual harassment.

The $5 million lawsuit, brought against Siegel by a former employee, was not the first storm the self-made billionaire has weathered, nor is it likely to be the last. Siegel’s divorce from his second wife, Betty, cost him over $200 million in cash and assets including a lakeside home so decadent in style that when Michael Jackson first saw it, he made an offer on the spot to buy it for his personal residence.

Yet over the years, David Siegel seems to have done a good job of ensuring that his personal challenges do not affect the quality of service or standards at Westgate timeshare resorts. His motto, “Good enough isn’t good enough,” appears to be something he takes seriously. A 2007 Forbes Magazine profile of Siegel says he personally checks every detail about Westgate timeshare, including sleeping on sample bed pillows and, “…inspecting the furniture he preselected, the showerhead, and flat-screen TV in each unit.”

As an innovative, creative, and driven entrepreneur, Siegel continues to grow Westgate timeshares in his usual big way, building most of his properties three times larger in number of timeshare units than is the industry average for a timeshare resort. His commitment includes not only time, but also money. The company has already spent $100 million (with another $1.1 billion planned in investments) on his current showpiece timeshare resort, a joint venture between Westgate timeshare and Planet Hollywood for a 2,800+ timeshare condo resort in Las Vegas.

But the same Forbes article that extolled Siegel’s attention to detail also quoted him as describing the people who buy Westgate timeshare as being the, “Johnny Lunch-Bucket crowd,” who “shop at Wal-Mart and otherwise would stay in a Ramada Inn.”

…Somehow, I don’t think he meant that as a compliment.

Most people who buy timeshare as new property from Westgate Vacation Villas or Westgate timeshare, make a down payment (according the article in Forbes Magazine) of approximately, “…$2,400 for the right to stay one week per year in a two-bedroom apartment. They pay the other $21,600 over ten years (often borrowing it from Westgate, which makes much of its money on financing), plus a $599 annual maintenance fee.”

In case you missed that part, let me repeat it, “…Westgate, which makes much of its money on financing…“

Maybe It Is Time to Consider Timeshare Resales

I will leave you to draw your own conclusion about a decision to buy timeshare as new property from Westgate Resorts, or the decision to let Westgate Resorts finance your purchase.

On Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website, we advertise timeshare resales and timeshare rentals that belong to Westgate timeshare owners who want to sell or rent timeshare. When you buy timeshare through Sell My Timeshare NOW, you deal directly with the person who currently owns the timeshare weeks or timeshare condo. Because you are buying timeshare resales, you can expect to pay lower prices than if you buy timeshare directly from the developer.

If you are interested in buying Westgate timeshare, do two things before you make your decision. First, search the extensive inventory of timeshare resales available on the Sell My Timeshare NOW website and see for yourself the good deals that are available. Second, take a few minutes to watch this YouTube video of an interview with David Siegel and his wife Jacqueline, as they take you on a tour of their new house, at that time, still under construction.

The sale and rental of new timeshares and of timeshare resales benefits the economy both directly and indirectly.

The American Resort Development Association, known as ARDA, recently released statistics on the economic effect of the timeshare industry in certain geographic regions. The study showed that the timeshare industry positively impacts regional, state and local economies in measurable ways. In fact, resale timeshares specifically are a significant and sometimes overlooked economic contributor within the industry.

The studies prepared for ARDA by PricewaterhouseCoopers and released by ARDA International Foundation, show that the Florida timeshare industry contributed $12.3 billion to that state’s economy in 2005, and the Nevada timeshare industry contributed $2.8 billion to the Nevada statewide economy during the same period. While many states in the US gain considerably from the presence of the timeshare industry, Nevada and Florida head the list, with California and South Carolina coming next in line.

Timeshares positively impact the economy through the sale of new and resale timeshares, job opportunities created by the industry, direct and indirect expenditures of timeshare vacationers, and revenues realized through local property taxes. Every time someone buys a timeshare resale, two positive things happen. First, a new owner takes possession of the timeshare unit, begins to use it, and feeds money back into the economy where it is located. But secondly, a person who no longer wants or needs that particular timeshare is relieved of the on-going cost of vacation property ownership and is freed-up to put his or her money into something else, including even new timeshares.

One Nevada developer has finally received government approval to commence constructing six timeshare units at Homewood, Nevada, in the Lake Tahoe area. The West Shore development received the go-ahead earlier this month after the developer agreed to downsize the plan from nine timeshare units to six timeshare units. The proposed timeshare vacation homes will be constructed on Highway 89, across from Homewood Mountain Ski Resort approximately twenty miles north of South Lake Tahoe and six miles south of Tahoe City.

Conditions of the approval, according the website for Placer County, California government, include demolition of an existing property known as the Marina Lodge; constructing a facility for washing boats; building screens to block views of existing boat racks; and contributing $100,000 to the Homewood Home Owners Association for public beach access.

This particular project is one more instance where local government officials agonize over whether an area should be zoned for use as residential property, traditional hotel property, timeshare units, or as fractional ownership. I think it is the concept of fractionals that has really added to the justifiable confusion and concern of planning boards.

Residential property has predictable patterns for use, density, and the type of traffic, tax revenue, and demands on government services it will create. The pros and cons of hotel use are equally predictable. In both cases, a zoning or planning board can realistically project what an area will be like in five, ten, or even fifteen years, based on its zoning. But when you add timeshare vacation property—most especially fractionals—to the mix, neither the standard projections for residential property or for hotel property accurately apply.

As developers of fractional properties or timeshare units often explain, fractional ownership (whether it is one week at a time or a thirteen-week increment) creates more business for area restaurants, attractions, and other businesses and services that benefit from tourist trade. On the other hand, fractional owners generate less business for services such as dentists, hardware stores, or computer repair shops, which are all good examples of places a vacationer is less likely than a resident to spend money. And from a third perspective, some restaurateurs argue that timeshare units (because so many of them have kitchen and dining areas) and fractionals (which essentially offer all the features of a private home) hurt their business by comparison to hotels, where guests often have little choice but to dine out three times per day.

It’s always a tough call for those who carry the responsibility of planning our cities’ futures, but this past year, I have definitely seen more instances like this one. City planning boards are compromising and permitting developers to intermingle small developments that have a limited number of fractionals or timeshare units, into areas that are traditionally zoned for residential use only.

To learn more about other Lake Tahoe timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, or Nevada timeshare resales and California timeshare resales, visit the website for Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Hilton timeshares and Waldorf-Astoria fractionals under construction at the famed Reflection Bay golf course.

New Las Vegas timeshares and fractionals are in the plans for Henderson, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas. The Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced that they will build 250 timeshare units at Lake Las Vegas Resort. Two hundred of the units will carry the brand of Hilton timeshares, while another fifty will be branded as part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection. Currently Waldorf-Astoria Collection timeshares or fractionals are available at La Quinta, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Maui; and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Many of the timeshare units in the new Hilton and Waldorf=Astoria, will face the 17th hole and the 18th tee of the famous Reflection Bay Golf Course.

Reflection Bay Golf Course is the first public course Jack Nicklaus designed in the state of Nevada. It is also home to the Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge, where each year, stars from the PGA, LPGA, and the Champions Tours tee it up in a fan-favorite golfing showdown. Five golf holes play alongside Lake Las Vegas, and the course features three waterfalls. But if your game isn’t up to that much water, play the forward tees and you will completely take the water out of play.

Because Reflection Bay is a public course, even if you schedule your Las Vegas timeshare vacation at the last minute, you still have a good chance to get on this incredible golf course. Also there are always great deals available in Hilton timeshare resales and Hilton timeshare rentals.