Westgate Timeshare

Orlando’s Local 6 TV News stirred up an old issue this past November when they interview David Siegel, founder and CEO of Westgate timeshares, regarding the company’s no-smoking policy for employees.

But this is not “news”. Westgate Resorts timeshares put their no-smoking ban in place in 2003. Westgate Resorts timeshares is part of the behemoth corporation, Central Florida Investments Inc, a conglomerate that includes hotels, magazines, travel services, insurance, real estate, internet companies, oil and even cattle, and is the largest single employer in the Orlando area. And Westgate timeshares in not alone in its crackdown on employee smoking. Other Florida companies have made similar moves. Thanks to the 2002 Florida Clean Indoor Act, smoking is already prohibited in restaurants, malls, workplaces and most interior areas. Many Florida employers prohibit smoking anywhere on company property while other companies also charge employees who smoke higher rates for their health insurance premiums. Westgate timeshares simply took its opposition to smoking a step further by saying: if you smoke, you won’t work for Westgate Resort timeshares.

Legal?

In the state of Florida it most certainly is. And from the perspective of companies, always watching their bottom-line, you have to see their side of it. Smokers increase insurance premiums across the board for all employees. As a general rule, they have lower productivity simply because of the time lost to smoke breaks. Where smoking is permitted on property, cleaning and repair costs to carpet, upholstery, and painted surfaces escalate.

On the other hand, does your employer ethically have the right to tell you that you cannot smoke off property and on your own time?

Dicey questions, and you can count on David Siegel to (pardon the pun) fan the flames of controversy with one of his straight to the point comments. As quoted in the Orlando Sentinel, Siegel says, “When I found out it was legal to discriminate against smokers (in 2002), those were my marching orders.”

Westgate Resorts is the third largest timeshare company in the world, with resorts throughout the US. To learn more about Westgate timeshare resales and Westgate timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare Now.

• Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Leisure Resort – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Palace – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate South Beach – Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Branson Woods – Branson, Missouri
• Westgate Branson Lakes – Hollister, Missouri
• Westgate Tunica Resort – Robinsville, Mississippi
• Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort – Mesa, Arizona
• Westgate Blue Tree – Lake Buena Vista, Florida
• Westgate Daytona Beach – Daytona Beach, Florida
• Westgate River Ranch – River Ranch, Florida
• Westgate Towers – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Town Center – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Vacation Villas – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Miami Beach – North Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Flamingo Bay – Las Vegas, Nevada
• Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort – Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• Westgate Park City Resort and Spa – Park City, Utah
• Westgate Historic Williamsburg – Williamsburg, Virginia

You probably thought my blog on Christmas Eve would be about hearth and home, and in a way, it is.

Over the past few days, Sell My Timeshare NOW has been trying to draw attention to the Natalee Holloway disappearance and to emphasize that the search must continue even though Aruban authorities have closed the case. And at this special time of the year, when we focus so much on family and our blessings, I want to also direct your attention to another family who continues to deal with the anguish of a missing child, the Kesse’s and their daughter, Jennifer.

Jennifer Kesse went missing on January 24, 2005 from her home, or near her home, in Orlando, Florida. If you know Orlando, the time and location make her disappearance even more puzzling. Jennifer was the proud owner of a new condominium, located almost directly across a busy four-lane street from Orlando’s most upscale mall. On two sides of the complex in which she lived are new stores, new restaurants, and typically lots of people and activity. To add to the mystery, investigators do not believe Jennifer disappeared in the middle of the night, but instead went missing on a busy Tuesday morning, during or very near the same time hundreds and hundreds of people were passing through the area in route to work or school.

Jennifer was employed by Westgate Timeshare and was possibly headed to work, or about to leave for work, at the time of her presumed abduction. The founder and CEO of Westgate timeshare, David Siegel, posted an enormous reward for tips leading to Jennifer’s return, hoping to flush out anyone with meaningful information. At this time, there are very few leads in this case; still the search goes forward and Jennifer’s parents continue to keep her story in front of the media.

As you celebrate your holidays, please hold in your heart and prayers the Holloway family, the Kesse family, and the thousands of other families who grieve a missing or abducted child.

Haven’t we all been in a public place and witnessed an irate parent turn to his or her child in anger that was vastly out of proportion to the child’s misbehavior?

The question always becomes, when do I get involved and when do I mind my own business?

Thank goodness, Westgate Timeshare employee, Hilda Berrios, wasn’t afraid to get involved. Her actions have changed one little boy’s life forever.

On November 6, at Westgate Timeshare Resort’s Osceola County (Florida) sales center, Ms. Berrios, a Westgate administrative assistant, noticed a small boy trying to serve himself cereal at their buffet line. The longer she watched the boy, according to an article that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel, the more signs she saw that did not add up right.

No, this was not one of those instances of an overly angry parent—just the opposite. The seven-year-old boy Berrios had noticed did not seem to be in the company of any adult. Not only was he struggling alone to serve himself on the buffet line, but his overall appearance was frightening. He was far too thin, only 37 pounds, and badly bruised and cut.

So Berrios and two other Westgate timeshare employees stepped in, asking questions and contacting local authorities. It seems that the two women who serve as the child’s guardians (neither of whom is his mother or even a biological relative) were attending a Westgate timeshare sales presentation, and had had left the child alone in the car.

Investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families revealed a history of previously undocumented abuse of the child, including burns, battery, tying the child with restraints, and even forcing him to drink shampoo. The DCF said that the actions of the Westgate timeshare employees, likely saved the boy’s life.

Lesson to all of us: When in doubt, speak up. It is better to offend someone and later need to apologize than to turn your back and ignore a situation, where a child’s wellbeing could be dangling by the thinnest of threads.

Westgate Timeshares

For more information on Westgate timeshares, Westgate timeshare resales, and Westgate timeshare rentals, visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

• Westgate Vacation Villas – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Tunica Resort – Robinsville, Mississippi
• Westgate Town Center – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Towers – Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate South Beach – Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort – Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• Westgate River Ranch – River Ranch, Florida
• Westgate Park City Resort and Spa – Park City, Utah
• Westgate Palace – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort – Mesa, Arizona
• Westgate Miami Beach – North Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Leisure Resort – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa – Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Historic Williamsburg – Williamsburg, Virginia
• Westgate Flamingo Bay – Las Vegas, Nevada
• Westgate Daytona Beach – Daytona Beach, Florida
• Westgate Branson Woods – Branson, Missouri
• Westgate Branson Lakes – Hollister, Missouri
• Westgate Blue Tree – Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Westgate Resort Timeshares is a privately owned timeshare and vacation ownership company based in Orlando, Florida. David A. Siegel, a self-made multi-millionaire, who is personally so colorful I could write this entire blog just about his eccentricities, founded Westgate. Instead, I will save the Siegel stories for another time, and choose to focus instead on the upcoming Planet Hollywood Towers.

Planet Hollywood Towers is being constructed with the help of a $400 million construction and development loan arranged by Textron Financial Corp of Rhode Island. Westgate, which already has 28 timeshare resorts in 11 states, records around $800 million in annual revenues. Siegel obviously sees Planet Hollywood Towers timeshare resort as his crown jewel and has been quoted as saying that the timeshare resort is the first timeshare connected directly to a major resort hotel and casino complex, and will provide Westgate timeshare owners with, “vacation experiences unavailable anywhere else in the world.”

Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino kicked things off last week, with a grand opening that included three days of Hollywood headliners, including Bruce Willis, Barbra Streisand, Jon Stewart, Sugar Ray, and, Earth, Wind, and Fire. The event was hyped as Las Vegas’ biggest party, and any way you look at it, that’s tough billing to live up to.

Not so long ago, the prime piece of real estate on which Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino sits was occupied by the Aladdin, a resort and casino that was both grand and garish, even by Vegas standards. When the old Aladdin closed in the late 1990’s, it was imploded (except for the Aladdin Theater), taking with it memories of Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding held there, the many times part owner Wayne Newton crooned “Danny Boy,” or Neil Diamond sang “Sweet Caroline”, and no doubt the millions of dollars that had changed hands over the years across the gaming tables.

Reopening the Aladdin was attempted in 2000, but everything from the failed opening-night fireworks display, to union squabbles, to changing trends along the famous Vegas Strip made the rebirth of the Aladdin brief and painful.

In 2003, Starwood Resorts and Planet Hollywood purchased the Aladdin out of bankruptcy. To their credit, they have developed the hotel not as homage to movie memorabilia, but more along the sleek lines of the highly successful Wynn Resort.

Still, nothing is certain in Las Vegas success. One day they love you and the next day you’re yesterday’s news. But it least for now it appears that Westgate’s Planet Hollywood Towers are strategically positioned for triumph. The timeshare resort will provide direct access to the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino for timeshare owners in the 1200 villas, which includes 28 penthouse suites.

The nearly 200 boutiques of the Miracle Mile encircle Planet Hollywood, and the 50-story timeshare resort will dominate the corner of Harmon Avenue and Audrey Lane. The towers will include a tropical pool with its own sandy beach and private cabanas, a private pool on the 46 floor for exclusive use by the timeshare owners in the penthouse suites, a fitness center, restaurants, marketplace/deli, and all the amenities $400 million can buy.

Target date for opening this timeshare extravaganza? Even Westgate’s own website doesn’t speculate on when you will be able to buy timeshare at the Planet Hollywood Towers.

Until Westgate’s Planet Hollywood Towers are ready for your next vacation, here are other Westgate timeshare resales for you to enjoy:

• Westgate Blue Tree Lake Buena Vista, Florida
• Westgate Branson Lakes Hollister, Missouri
• Westgate Branson Woods Branson, Missouri
• Westgate Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, Florida
• Westgate Flamingo Bay Las Vegas, Nevada
• Westgate Historic Williamsburg Williamsburg, Virginia
• Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Leisure Resort Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Miami Beach North Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort Mesa, Arizona
• Westgate Palace Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Park City Resort and Spa Park City, Utah
• Westgate River Ranch River Ranch, Florida
• Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• Westgate South Beach Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Towers Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Town Center Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Tunica Resort Robinsville, Mississippi
• Westgate Vacation Villas Kissimmee, Florida