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In 2014, David Siegel, president and CEO of Westgate
Resorts, grabbed headlines when he climbed onto a
crane to be lifted to a 279-foot (85 meters) marquee to
replace the L in the sign of what had been the Las
Vegas Hotel (previously the Las Vegas Hilton) with the
Westgate W. Arguably the largest conversion of a hotel
to a timeshare resort, the project is just one of many
such efforts underway. “Hotel conversions have a lot of
potential benefits for timeshare developers,” says Jay
Wilson, vice president of resort sales and service for
Interval International. “They can be a great way to get
product to market quickly while cutting the costs of
land, permitting, architectural plans, and engineering.”
TRENDS
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
vacation industry review
APRIL – JUNE 2016
12
Your Next Timeshare Resort
Could Be a Hotel
By Judy Kenninger
REASONS TO
CONVERT
At Westgate Las Vegas Resort &
Casino, existing hotel units were
converted into timeshare suites
within a year of purchase in 2014.
5