By Troy Hooper/Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
May 15, 2001
A plan to replace the Grand Aspen Hotel with a timeshare project gained support from Aspen City Council on Monday
night.
Even so, City Council elected to continue the matter until May 29 saying that a project of that use and magnitude
required some extra thinking.
Among the biggest selling points the higher-ups from Four Peaks Management presented to council were that timeshares
would attract a different clientele to Aspen and likely have a higher occupancy rate than a hotel.
"The system is designed precisely to prevent what we don't want, which is dark windows in the event someone
buys a unit and never shows," said Scott Writer, a partner for Four Peaks Management LLC.
The timeshare suits would include a mix of at least 128 two- and three-bedroom units, he said, operated by Hyatt
Vacation Ownership Inc. Units would be sold for a fractional interest of 1/20, which would include a seven-day
fixed week and 10 random days for owners to choose from.
The average price of a unit, according to Hyatt's executive vice president John Burlingame, would be in the neighborhood
of $150,000.
To ensure the units would retain a high-occupancy rate, Writer said, the program is structured so that the owners
can exchange their allotted time in Aspen with about 750,000 other fractional-ownership members around the world
When the owners are not there, the units would be available to visitors on a nightly basis just like they would
in a hotel.
"We're 100 percent behind this," Aspen Skiing Co.'s vice president of real estate Don Schuster said.
"It probably creates a higher occupancy rate than a hotel and one thing that is real intriguing to us it will
generate new occupancy and try-out in Aspen."
Molly Campbell, general manger of The Gant, also voiced her support saying it the competition isn't likely to hurt
small lodges and that the stature of the Hyatt and the ability of a fractional ownership program to generate higher
occupancy rates is "huge."
Opposition to the project came namely from neighbors upset that the project's height -- about 45 feet -- would
upset their views.
They also argued that the timeshare concept was too easily being substituted for a "moderately-priced, upscale
150-room hotel" that the council conceptually approved for the lot's previous owner.
"We feel this is a very significant change in plans," neighbor Steve Falender said. "It appears
the new owners (Four Peaks, which bought the property from Savanah Limited Partnership) have taken the box that
was approved as a moderately-priced hotel and can fill it with whatever they want."
But City Council said it was poised to approve the project anyway, once financial details are spelled out a little
more thoroughly.
Councilman Jim Markalunas said he was ready to approve the project last night, saying he thought a fractional-ownership
project would open up Aspen to a new market. Councilman Tom McCabe said he likely wouldn't change his support for
the project on the basis of its height, which is significantly smaller than the neighboring St. Regis Aspen hotel,
and that he, too, likes the timeshare concept. Councilman Tony Hershey agreed.
Mayor Rachel Richards said there were still unanswered questions about the proposal and that she'd like to specify
how much might be paid by Four Peaks/Hyatt in lost sales tax that comes with a timeshare project compared with
a hotel. Four Peaks/Hyatt representatives said they'd be willing to pay the city $4 to $5 million to compensate
for the lost taxes.
Councilman Terry Paulson did not attend the meeting.
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