Creating the Brand
Celebrity Resorts was founded in 2003 with a vision of providing great vacation experiences, at sought-after destinations, with family-friendly accommodations and exemplary guest service. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Celebrity Resorts quickly evolved into what is now a nationwide vacation provider.
Nearing the end of 2003, the company took advantage of a growth opportunity and acquired the majority of the timeshare assets of Leisure Industries, a NYSE publicly traded company. Included within those assets were seven properties located in five states and 22,000 owner families. This great expansion called for setting a new goal of intense growth and developing the brand to reflect the progression of Celebrity Resorts.
Growth Continues
The growth continued in 2004 with the acquisition of four more properties and 15,000 owner families from American Vacation Resorts. In just two short years, Celebrity Resorts became one of the fastest growing timeshare companies in the nation and even extended the business into new areas, such as, condominium development, condominium hotel development, property management, financial services, vacation clubs, and management services including an exchange company.
That same year, the vacation ownership company also began a resort enhancement program with the renovation of Celebrity Resorts Orlando and Celebrity Resorts Lake Buena Vista. Celebrity Resorts then developed guest service standards and training initiatives to ensure employee commitment to providing great vacation experiences.
In 2005, Celebrity Resorts won the management contracts of six resorts, adding 22,000 owner families to its growing numbers. The company then began to focus on building the necessary infrastructure to sustain continued growth. That led to the 2006 development of a centralized system of operations based in Orlando, Fla. Through a system of regional management, the timeshare company is able to maintain consistent leadership at all properties nationwide.
New Endeavors
By 2007, Celebrity Resorts was ready for new growth opportunities and entered the whole ownership management business for more than 1,000 units in Las Vegas, Nevada and Orlando and Clearwater, Florida. Celebrity Resorts also acquired developer and other rights to six resorts that were already part of its vacation network in the management realm. Then, in an effort to celebrate the success of the company and give back to the community, Celebrity Resorts hosted the inaugural Golf Spooktacular and donated $12,000 to Give Kids The World Village (GKTW).
2008 was another exciting year at Celebrity Resorts. The company completed the renovation of 41 percent of its system wide resort units and donated $20,000 to GKTW through the second annual Golf Spooktacular.
In 2009, the company focused on enhancing the guest experience. Celebrity Resorts made improvements in the vacation planning services they provide onsite at the resorts, and within their standards of service. Additionally, according to the annual tradition, Celebrity Resorts hosted the 2009 Golf Spooktacular and once again donated $20,000 to GKTW.
Bright Future
As demonstrated throughout the company’s history, Celebrity Resorts is moving forward, introducing new products and services and giving back to the community, but always with the company’s mission in focus: provide guests great vacation experiences. The company has never lost sight of the original vision – it drives every decision and will continue to result in great success.