| | 8 TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY TECH OUTLOOKAPRIL 2023IN MYOPINIONMark Waltrip is the COO of one of the largest privately held timeshare companies and destination resort developers, Westgate Resorts. He's made a noteworthy and valuable contribution to the Westgate Resort's acquisition, design, development, construction, resort operations, restaurants, shops, and marketing. Mark is mainly responsible for the Westgate brand's ongoing development as an experience-based destination resort in his capacity as a chief operating officer. A proficient musician, author, and inventor, Mark defines versatility with precision. In addition to developing more than 50 restaurants, ranging from fast food to fine dining, he has created a wide range of retail stores, entertainment venues, and destination health spas under the Serenity Spa by Westgate brand. Mark has REVITALIZING VACATIONS WITH AUTHENTIC AND DESTINATION-THEMED RESORTSBy Mark Waltrip, COO, Westgate Resortsbeen a guest speaker at hospitality real estate and leadership conferences across the country. Besides the wide range of books he authored, Mark also wrote and published the song "A Hero's Walk", released by six-time Grammy Award-winning artist Lee Greenwood.Can you brief me about yourself, the journey you have had in your field experience, and your role and responsibility in the current organization?In 1996, I started my career in the hospitality industry. Prior to that I was working at Computer Sciences Raytheon where I oversaw the finances, project management, and information technology for the development and operations of the USAF space launch support facilities, and I was previously the propulsion and pneumatics engineer for the first commercial space program at Cape Canaveral. While I was working in the space industry, I was also serving in the US Air Force Reserves performing organizational re-engineering projects for the US Government. The turning point in my career was when I was asked by David Siegal to join his team to help grow his business. David taught me the travel and hospitality industry from the ground up including development, operations, and marketing. Consequently, I have 26 years of experience in the business.Founded in 1982, Westgate Resorts is one of the largest mixed-use companies with timeshare hotels, restaurants, retail stores, and waterpark entertainment facilities dispersed across the United States. We have more than 25,000 beds across 23 locations supported by over 8500 team members. We construct small cities and refer to them as our "cruise ships on land". This is because of our comprehensive activity and amenities programs that resemble cruise ships more closely than conventional destination resorts. Distinctive for designing and building resorts that are heavily themed following the location, a visit to any of the Westgate resorts, including Westgate Smoky Mountain resort, offers guests an authentic experience of the Great Smoky Mountains. The national park inspires the resort's entire theme, amenities, activities, resort architecture, signage, and even the team members' uniforms. Another example is Westgate Historic Williamsburg Resort, a charming colonial-style red brick hotel with staff members dressing in period attire. The units are named after prominent Virginians to engage the guests in the story-telling process. This endeavor develops a memorable visitor Mark Waltrip
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