An exclusive live interview with David A Siegel, Founder, President & CEO of Westgate Resorts on his journey to creating the largest privately owned timeshare company in the world and billionaire status. Interviewed by Paul Mattimoe, Perspective International Ltd, at the Arabian Court, One & Only Royal Mirage, Dubai – March 2008.

Paul
David, thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak to you today. To start with, can I first ask what your background was prior to starting your first company?

David
Well, I have been working since I was 4 years old. I grew up in business and have been in various businesses. I was in the TV sales and services business, I was in the exporting business, I owned a gas station, I had a large furniture store. I had a store that was almost like a mini Wal-Mart at one time. It had furniture, appliances, TV. It even had a record department.

In 1968, during the Republican Presidential Convention at Miami Beach, riots broke out in Miami. My store was wiped out. At that point I went into the real estate field and for a couple of years, I worked in real estate in Miami and then in 1970 I moved to Orlando with my wife and children and no money, and went into selling real estate around the Disney area. Disney was a year from opening, so I saw the opportunity there. I am one of the few people in the world who was at the grand opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California and at the grand opening of Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

I lived in California for one year in 1955 and they opened in the middle of an orange grove and I saw all this farm land around and years later I went back and saw that Anaheim had become a big city. I felt the same thing was going to happen with Disney World in Orlando. I had that insight that few other people had and I started selling and buying land around the Disney World area and I did quite well. I went from having no money when I got to Orlando to thinking about retirement by 1975.

Paul
At that time when you first started in Florida in 1970, was your vision for the future similar to today’s reality, the size that you are?

David
Actually I thought back then in 1970 if I could find a house and pay off the mortgage and have some money in the bank and have a few investments that could give me income and I would not have to work so hard, I would be perfectly happy. I did not have the grandiose vision at that point when I moved to Orlando, that I would be where I am today.

Paul
At that point you did not start with timeshare either did you?

David
No.

Paul
When and why did you enter into this market place?

David
Well as I told you, by 1975 I had done so well in real estate that I was thinking about an early retirement and I was making real estate investments with apartments and hotels. I even built the most successful small tourist attraction in Orlando called The Mystery Fun House which I built and operated for 25 years but at that time I built it and hired a management company so I would have a source of income along from the other investments I made, and one of the investments I made was an 80 acre orange grove next to Walt Disney World. In 1980 after basically living a very comfortable existence, I didn’t retire, but I really didn’t work very hard either because I was getting income from the orange grove, from the hotels and apartments and attraction. It was kinda like very comfortable and no pressure.

In 1980 a gentleman came to me and said he wanted to buy 10 acres of my orange grove and he offered me double what I thought the land value was worth and I asked him “What are you going to do with it?” and he said “I am going to timeshare it”. I didn’t understand, I said “What is timeshare?” So that was the first time I learnt about it. He explained the concept to me and I fell in love with the idea and so I didn’t sell him the property, but I decided to go ahead and build a timeshare resort in the back of the orange grove. I had a beautiful orange grove and I didn’t want to ruin the look of it in case this did not work.

So I started with 16 villas at the back. I had a small pond which I had some farmer come and dig out and make a lake out of it and not knowing the construction business, it took me almost 2 years to build the 16 units.

By December 15th 1982, we were ready for sales.

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Tags: David A Siegel, Fractional, marriott, Residence Clubs, resorts, Timeshare, United States, villas, Westgate Resorts, Wyndham