September 28, 2001
Dear Sir:
I hope you have the guts to print this letter.
I am an avid reader of your distorted timeshare report as are most of my colleagues in the timeshare industry as
well as many thousands of current and potential timeshare owners. I, as the President of Westgate Resorts, am
tired of being your whipping boy. I consider my company a very reputable one and take offense with your unfounded
allegations. At first I took the attitude that any response would only give credibility to the ludicrous statements.
But, now, after months of your continuous assaults, I feel I need to respond even if the response falls on deaf
ears.
To begin with, we pride ourselves on being one of the pioneer timeshare companies. We also pride ourselves on
the fact that in our 20-year history we have never failed to meet a payroll. Many of our employees have been with
us from the very beginning, attesting to the fact that we treat our employees extremely well. In fact, our employees
are among the highest paid people in our industry. With over 6,000 employees, there will always be a few disgruntled
ones. When we are made aware of a problem, we are quick to resolve it. In most cases, we are able to.
It seems that you are hung up on reserve accounts and charge backs. Let me explain to you why this is not only
necessary but critical to the survival of our industry as it currently exists. We sell anyone that can come up
with a minimum 10% down payment, regardless of whether they are credit worthy or not. We do not run a credit check
and, therefore, our salespeople have no credit rejects. The next day we give the salesman an advance of 50% of
their commission, even before the customer's check has cleared the bank. Our experience has shown that many of
our purchasers have an unsatisfactory credit history. Rather than reject a sale that a salesman has worked so
hard to make because of credit, we accept everyone. Therefore, the reason for having charge backs. Once the purchaser
has made six consecutive timely payments, the salesman is no longer on the hook for a charge back even though we
have to receive many years of payments just to recover our cost of the sale. Many of our competitors do credit
checks at the time of purchase and reject everyone that does not have a perfect credit history and, as a result,
don't have to charge back their salespeople. Years ago, when we gave this option to our sales staff they overwhelmingly
opted for the charge backs.
In the case of reserve accounts, when a salesperson leaves the company, they are responsible for all commission
advances that were made to them until every one of the sales has made the six consecutive timely payments. In
most cases, the charge backs exceed the amount of money due the salesperson when they leave. In some cases where
they do not, we pay the balance to the salesperson once every sale has been cleared. I receive many letters from
ex-salespeople requesting their reserves and, in each case, I have my payroll person figure up their account and
contact them.
This is a very competitive business. In order to remain successful and to continue meeting all our obligations,
we must run a tight ship and react to problems instantly. Sometimes this means firing or shifting personnel from
resort to resort and whatever other things we deem necessary to be efficient. We don't need "The Timeshare
Beat" second guessing us or taking pot shots at our company. We have good valid reasons for everything we
do and we are not accountable to you.
Your "Timeshare Beat" could be an asset to the timeshare industry as a common denominator for all the
timeshare resorts. It could be valuable as a way for our industry to stay on top of current news, employment opportunities,
and even investment opportunities.
Unfortunately, you decided to be more like the "National Enquirer," "The Globe," and "The
Star" and distribute rumors, half-truths and innuendoes in your paper rather than helpful and informative
information. What you are doing is a disservice to the entire industry. While we have tried so hard to build
up credibility with the public for our industry, you are doing us tremendous harm. When the public reads all of
the garbage that you put in your paper, how could they possibly think that timesharing is the best way for families
to vacation? They must have the impression after reading "The Timeshare Beat" that no one can hold a
job, everyone is sleeping with everyone, every resort is going bankrupt and there are few credible people still
around. This is far from the truth. The truth is that the timeshare industry is very much alive and prospering.
We are one of the few industries that have consistently grown from year to year. With the entry of Disney, Marriott,
Hilton, Hyatt, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Starwood, Wyndham and, of course, Westgate Resorts, the industry has
never enjoyed higher credibility than it does today, in spite of your muck raking commentaries. Our industry employs
millions of good hard-working people from all walks of life and in every community across the country we create
huge tax bases, support the local charities and create employment. Our owners come year round to enjoy the resorts,
pay taxes, spend money in the community and don't burden school systems, libraries or community functions.
I am a strong advocate of a national public relations campaign where every person will come in contact with positive
articles on timesharing and learn about the benefits of owning a timeshare vacation villa. Your "Timeshare
Beat" could go a long way in being the spokesman for our industry if you used journalistic responsibility.
Of course, these are only my views but I am sure that they are shared by all of my fellow developers as well.
I dare you to print this letter in its entirety.
Sincerely,
David A. Siegel
President, CEO and Chairman of the Board