Houston company acquires 700 Polo Towers time intervals

Thursday, April 19, 2001 | 11:15 a.m.

A Houston resort company has signed letters of intent to acquire 1,800 time-share intervals, including 700 at Polo Towers on the Las Vegas Strip, from Diamond Resorts International.

Raintree Resorts International, which has 32,000 owners and members, signed the deal for about 1,100 one-bedroom intervals at Diamond's Kona Reef Resort in Hawaii and 700 time intervals at the 512-room Polo Towers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"This is a strategic alliance that will be a good for both companies because we have an abundance of inventory and this will enable their (Raintree) customers the option of coming to Las Vegas," said Robert C. Wengel, chief operating officer of Diamond Resorts.

Time-share customers acquire increments of time, usually a week, in a resort. Buyers normally acquire a time-share and a club membership that enables them to trade time at other locations where the company has agreements. Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing time-share markets in the country.

Raintree said it pursued the deal because its Raintree Vacation Club customers wanted to be able to use time-share units in Las Vegas and Hawaii.