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dog stand on the Cocoa Beach [Florida] Pier. We want to serve the
best doggone hot dog you can offer — and we do.”
Westgate owners receive a percentage discount off their bill at
resort restaurants, which brings the price down to near Westgate’s
actual costs, says Waltrip.
“Glamping” in Style
Where do guests pay more to sleep in a tent than at a nearby luxury
condominium? At Westgate River Ranch, a 1,700-acre (688 hectares)
ranch, approximately one hour south of Orlando, which also features
a weekly rodeo with trick riding, bull riding, and barrel racing in a
1,200-seat arena.
Of course, they’re not just any tents. Part of the glamping trend,
these tents feature air conditioning, real beds, a private bathroom
facility with a shower, and a staffer to light the nightly campfire.
“We started with just 10 tents, and now have 20,” Waltrip says.
“We’ve also added 10 luxe teepees with cast-iron bathtubs.” The tee-
pees sleep up to four guests and have a double-sided stone fireplace,
two leather chairs with an authentic cowhide ottoman, luxury linens,
two rocking chairs, and a private patio deck. The accommodations
are particularly popular with grandparents who bring grandchildren.
“It’s one of the best things we’ve done for the money,” he says. “It
elevates the quality of the ranch itself. The response has been amazing.”
Adding to the overall value proposition for Westgate owners,
Waltrip says, is its affiliation with Interval International. “They’ve
always been a phenomenal partner. We like to keep guests in our
network, but the reality is Interval gives us several thousand added
options and flexibility. Interval also offers other valuable benefits. It
lets our owners know they are valued.”
Westgate Resorts
Developer:
Central Florida Investments/Westgate Resorts
Headquarters:
Orlando, Florida
Product:
Seasonal floating weeks; owners can lock in some weeks
Resorts:
27 vacation ownership properties throughout the U.S., including resorts in Arizona,
Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia
Price:
Two-bedroom, one-week: US$25,000 to US$30,000
Website:
westgateresorts.com
FAST FACTS
When David Siegel’s 18-year-old
daughter Victoria died from a drug
overdose on June 6, 2015, the
Westgate founder and CEO, and
timeshare industry leader, shifted
his focus from expanding an empire
to saving lives. “I walk in my office
every day and on the left on my desk
is a pile of resort work, on the right
is a pile of drug-related work,’’ he
says. “I look at the work pile and
I think, money. I look at the drug-
related and I say, lives. My attention
goes to saving lives. I don’t want
other families to go through what we
went through, to lose what we lost.”
To that end, Siegel and his wife,
Jacqueline, started the Victoria’s
Voice Foundation. The foundation’s
mission is three-fold: to encourage
locking up prescription medications
(according to Siegel, 53 percent of
children who use illicit prescription
drugs get them from a relative’s
or friend’s medicine cabinet); to
implement random drug testing
in educational institutions; and
to require the coprescription of
naloxone every time an opiate
painkiller is prescribed. “Naloxone
is a completely safe opiate-reversal
drug that can pull someone out
of an overdose state — even on
the verge of death — into an
immediate withdrawal,” Siegel says.
“It is life-saving and nonaddictive.”
Siegel, a member of the
Orange County Heroin Task
Force, advocated for passage
of the Comprehensive Addiction
and Recovery Act (CARA), which
includes measures for prevention,
drug treatment, recovery, and
support, as well as criminal-justice
reform. The bill was signed by
President Obama on July 22, 2016.
“David has been applying the
same creativity that he used to build
Westgate to this issue, and he’s
saving lives,” says Waltrip. “That’s
the big story for Westgate this year.
Yes, we’re growing, but it’s more
important to us that David is leading
the country in fighting the pandemic
of drug abuse, and he’s making a
difference.”
As this magazine went to press
, the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, area suffered a
devastating wildfire, which badly damaged Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Spa.
The Westgate team evacuated more than 700 guests with very little notice. Fortunately,
everyone who was at the property is safe and unharmed. Within hours, Westgate’s
leadership team and the Westgate Resorts Foundation were in Gatlinburg to launch
relief efforts to assist local team members and residents affected by the disaster, many
of whom lost their homes. Donations to help those impacted can be made online at
westgateresortsfoundation.org.
Westgate immediately started reconstruction so the resort could quickly reopen.
David Siegel, Westgate Resorts president and CEO, says he is committed to making
the resort bigger, better, and even more beautiful than before.
Victoria’s Voice
To advertise in Interval World magazine, contact Nicole Meck at 949.470.8324;
.
For information on consumer advertising opportunities in Europe, contact Annie Mercer at
44 (0) 20 8336 9581;
.
In Asia/Pacific, contact Fizah Ibrahim at 65 6318 2510;
.
When you advertise in Interval World
®
magazine,
your message
will reach 1.3 million
travel-savvy
consumers in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean.
Have readers.
Will travel.
THEY LOVE VACATION OWNERSHIP.
More than 85 percent are satisfied with the product.
THEY WANT MORE.
Nearly 20 percent express an interest in purchasing
additional resort weeks.
THEY ARE AFFLUENT.
Interval members report an average household income
of $121,550 per year.
THEY TRAVEL — A LOT.
Interval members take more land trips and cruises,
and rent more cars than the general U.S. population.
C1Aa/Ee Standard/Starwood US & Canada
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iwna2016sum_C1-FrontCover+.qxp_IWNA front cover 4/27/16 4:28PM Page 1
WESTGATE RIVER RANCH, RIVER RANCH, FLORIDA
