Central Florida Investments, Inc, parent company of Westgate Resorts, Inc, has closed their Houston sales office and laid off 106 employees. (source)  This office has been doing "off-site" sales of timeshares for their network of Westgate Resorts.  Their office, located on Richmond Ave, featured a full sized model of one of their timeshare units to present to their buyers. They called this their preview gallery. The reason they gave the Texas Workforce Commission for the layoffs was that they "experienced an unforeseen business emergency brought on by the collapse of the credit markets." They were not able to sell their notes to their usual buyers, and the cash flow stopped. So far that all sounds like a normal by product of a severely tight credit market.

The reason this story caught my attention was because of the sales tactic of "off site" sales. I know that Westgate would not have kept the office open for the last 4 years if it were not successful. But, how hard must it be to sell a timeshare (at a top retail price) that may be actually sitting hundreds or thousands of miles away? Richmond Ave in Houston is nice, but it is not as popular destination as Las Vegas, Orlando, Hawaii, or others. So what kind of confidence can the consumer have when buying a timeshare in Vegas without going there? And how hard must it be for a sales person to close a deal when the buyer is not able to enjoy all the benefits and excitement of the terrific destination? Then, I'd wonder how high is their rate of cancellation compared to on site timeshare sales?  You'd think it would be harder to hold a buyer in this kind of deal.

I'd love to hear from any of you who used to work there or who have done "off-site" sales for timeshare developers!

Take a look at how we sell timeshares with no hassle, no pressure, and always "off-site".

Polo Towers Timeshare in Las Vegas

In yesterday's Orlando Sentinel, they interviewed David Siegel, Westgate's President. He announced that they plan to lay off hundreds of employees - they employ about 10,000.  Quoted in the interview, Siegel said "We're having a record year. We're in the most profitable year in our history and the banks are freezing our money," he said. "So we have no choice. In order for our company to survive we're going to downsize until the money starts flowing again."

He went on to explain that this would have the largest impact on new projects, but in the mean time, they were going to be fine.

Here's the lesson I dug out of this: With Westgate Resorts, Inc being the largest privately held timeshare developer they have the flexibility to respond to quickly changing financial markets.  As a Westgate timeshare owner, you should be able to stay optimistic about your timeshare vacation ownership. If other timeshare financing money quickly goes away, other timeshare developers may have to scramble to find other options to keep their cash flow working and stay "out of the red."

So if you are one of over 400,000 owners of a Westgate timeshare in one of it's 28 resorts stay tuned in as the story continues to develop.

If you already know of layoffs at Westgate Resorts, chime in here on the blog.

Also, here's a link to my previous story about record sales for Westgate Resorts, Inc. and highlights on Westgate timeshare locations.

Here's yet another sign that the economy can't be as bad as the pundits seem to think.

Westgate Timeshare Resorts reported that their sales were up 22 percent in June. In fact, they posted a record sales week in July with $33 million in sales!

Westgate Resorts, based in Orlando Florida, is the largest privately held timeshare developer in North America.  Many other timeshare developers are reporting sales growth as well. If luxury properties are being sold in record numbers to mostly "middle class" America, it is hard to conclude that this country is in a recession or heading for one. After looking at this phenomena you would have to conclude that either 1 - People are recklessly plunging themselves into debt, or 2 - Baby boomers are leading the way into this growth with their accumulated wealth.

So the growth of Westgate timeshare sales should not be surprising. People can create a "work around" solution when it comes to juggling expenses in order to make room in their budget for family vacation travel.  That is also partly because our generation (that is, boomers) value leisure time and time spent with family.

If you are ready to plunge in and save thousands at the same time, call the timeshare pros at www.rpmls.com at 1.800.200.9857.

With about a half million owners, Westgate Resorts is the largest privately held timeshare company in the US.  They have announced a new service for their owners: www.westgatefamilies.com.  Westgate explains that this is a vacation photo/video sharing website for the owners to use as a community activity.  After visiting the site, it offers far more than just a media storage place. You can pay fees, reserve weeks, rent special deals they offer, and more.  They have done a good job of integrating a social networking website with conducting the business of running one of the largest resort franchises in the US.

My experience with Westgate resorts has been as a guest, not an owner.  I stayed at Westgate Vacation Villas in Orlando Florida for a family vacation. I noticed the attention to detail, maintenance, upkeep, and staff professionalism.  The facilities were well located in relation to Walt Disney World, and all in all, a great experience.

If you were to buy a Westgate Resort timeshare, I would recommend you buy the timeshare from an owner on the resale market.  You will save a bundle of money.  Why pay retail when you can buy resale? Check out some of these timeshare deals for Westgate Resorts for sale. And if you are ready to sell your Westgate timeshare, be sure to check out the services of www.rpmls.com.

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