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Greetings.
In 1983, Orlando was a town on the verge of greatness. Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, opened in 1967, was well established and Epcot, a revolutionary theme park concept, had opened a year earlier. The city was quickly establishing a worldwide reputation as a popular family vacation destination.
It was also the year that I started in the resort development business. I had started Central Florida Investments, the parent company to Westgate Resorts, about ten years earlier. By 1983, I had acquired quite a bit of real estate in Central Florida, including a small parcel near the main entrance to Walt Disney World Resort.
I saw vacation resort ownership as an opportunity that no one had fully realized. After crunching some numbers, it occurred to me that I could build luxurious resort-style villas in a prime location and market them in a way that would be affordable to middle-class families. I can't describe how excited I was at this revelation! I immediately started developing my first luxury resort: 16 units that I named Westgate Vacation Villas.
It was immediately evident that Westgate Vacation Villas would be a success! Sixteen villas have since grown to more than 1,000, making the resort one of the largest single-site vacation ownership resorts in the world! In the 20 years since, Westgate Resorts has expanded to include 15 luxury resorts in Orlando, Miami Beach, Park City, Las Vegas, the Smoky Mountains and Historic Williamsburg.
As excited as I was when I first started developing Westgate Vacation Villas, I am even more enthusiastic today about the future of this company. Westgate Resorts is poised to become the world's leading vacation ownership provider, in terms of quality, owner satisfaction and market success. I consider it a privilege to be a part of it.
This website outlines the most recent innovation in the Westgate Resorts family: Westgate River Ranch Aviators Club. It is our vision to develop an exciting and luxurious community, designed specifically for aviators and their families. In fact, we're calling it a fly-in destination, and I'm sure you'll be as excited about it as I am.
David A. Siegel
President and CEO
Westgate Resorts
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