Starwood Vacation Ownership Marks 25 th Anniversary of its Flagship Property, Sheraton Vistana Resor
Resort was first timeshare in Central Florida
ORLANDO, FL, June 15, 2005. Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO), a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), celebrates today the 25th anniversary of Sheraton Vistana Resort (formerly Vistana Resort), the first timeshare resort to open in Central Florida. The anniversary caps a progression of the company from a single Orlando resort in 1980 to the purchase by Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and culminating as one of the world's leading developers and operators of high-quality vacation ownership resorts.
Sheraton Vistana Resort began as a condominium conversion and has become one of the largest and most successful timeshare resorts in the industry. It has received many accolades and awards including the first vacation ownership resort to be named to Conde Nast's Gold List.
The seminal event of the anniversary will include the company's annual Celebration at its corporate offices and resorts worldwide. This annual event recognizes the associates for their contributions to the company's success with a day-long program featuring rewards and recognition, lunch and associate talent show.
"Paramount throughout our history has been maintaining our culture-as an independent company, a public corporation, and now as part of one of the largest hospitality companies in the world. The key to our success lies in our values, which are reflected in every employee and integrated into every aspect of our operation: ethics and integrity; customer focus; communication; innovation and improvement; teamwork and inclusion; and quality and life," said Raymond L. "Rip" Gellein, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., and one of the founding owners of Vistana.
Since the formation of Vistana in 1980, the company has been the model of change. It began as a privately-held company, sold to a public entity, and taken private again. In 1997, the company launched a successful IPO and two years later was sold to Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Today, the company currently operates ownership resorts under the Westin, Sheraton and St. Regis brands with properties in Florida, South Carolina, Colorado, Arizona, California, Hawaii, The Bahamas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"We have had an amazing journey from a single resort in 1980-the first ever in Central Florida-to developing into the world's premier vacation ownership company today," said Gellein.
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