Hotels, Timeshares, and the Bailout

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As you already know, on Friday, Congress voted to pass the revised, reworked, and augmented version of the $700 billion plus plan designed to bail out the US economy. America as a nation was divided, was this the solution? The right solution? Were we trading one set of problems for another?

And while you may think it’s our only choice, or you may see it as a plan for disaster, I thought you might be interested in these comments from some of the executives in the hotel and timeshare industry.

Wyndham Worldwide Hotels and timeshares

Forbes reported that Wyndham CEO Steve Holmes told Reuters last Wednesday, “all that matters is that Congress needs to come together and pass a bill that addresses the immediate problem.” Source: Forbes.com

Marriott Hotels and timeshare

Following up on Marriott’s conference call with investors last Thursday, Forbes reported that Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said, “We urge the ranking members of both parties to develop and enact a comprehensive stabilization plan. It is important that the plan be big and enacted very, very soon. There are thousands, maybe tens of thousands of jobs at stake in our company alone, and we are typical.” Sorenson’s comments followed the release earlier in the week of Marriott’s third quarter report, which showed quarterly profits down by 28 percent. Source: Forbes.com; time.com

Westgate Resorts Timeshare

After massive layoffs last week at Westgate Resorts, the company’s Executive VP of Sales and Marketing released the following YouTube videos, expressing his support for the bailout. In the videos, he speaks to the people he calls the ‘95% of Americans who are against the bailout because they do not understand it, and why the bailout is exactly what is needed’. This link takes you to Gissy’s video Part I, (7 plus minutes). If you want to view Part II (another 10 minutes), you can find it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31trCMcPoRQ

The full text of the bailout bill is available at the Huffington Post, in case you want to see it for yourself.