Marriott’s intent, he said, is to have Welk continue to sell its points-based club product until 2022 and by 2023 look at integrating that into one club system. The Hyatt Residence Club is a very close match to the quality of the projects we have, and they want to use our team to continue to grow their Residence Club business.”įredricks said he expects the rebranding process to take about nine months, but the vast majority of Welk’s existing employees would continue working at the properties.
“It’s a well-known name in the vacation ownership industry but all of us who’ve grown up in the business definitely see the opportunity to rebrand. “For our team and family it’s definitely bittersweet because after working 57 years through four generations and utilizing the Welk name, I think our team has an affinity for the name as do our owners,” said CEO and Welk grandson, Jon Fredricks, who has led the San Marcos-based company since 1999. The Collection includes more than a dozen vacation properties like the Four Seasons Residence Club that Welk company owns inventory in and makes available to its platinum owners. Welk Resorts opened The Ranahan in Breckenridge early last year, and four years earlier, the company debuted its Experiences Collection by Welk Resorts. Since then, the Welk portfolio has grown exponentially to include eight timeshare resorts, including Escondido, as well as locations in Cathedral City near Palm Springs Lake Tahoe where there are two properties Branson, Mo. Under his son Larry Welk’s leadership, the Escondido property was converted to a timeshare. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, at the close of the deal all Welk Resort properties will be rebranded Hyatt Residence Club properties.In 1984, Welk, who died in 1992, made his foray into the vacation ownership industry. In 2021, Welk Resort Group entered into an agreement to be acquired by Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation for $430 million. The group is currently headed by Jon Fredricks, grandson of Lawrence Welk. Ownership of the business has remained primarily with the Welk family, with seven family members and a former company president sharing 88 percent of ownership, along with 12 percent owned by employees through an employee stock ownership plan. ĭuring the 50 years since the company's formation, the company has developed five luxury resorts with over 1000 vacation ownership accommodations. As the initial property expanded, Larry Welk, a record company executive and Lawrence Welk's son, became the group's first CEO and guided the company into the timeshare business in the 1980s. After the entertainer staged one of his shows at the site, it gained in popularity for tourism, eventually growing to include a theater, more golf, and vacation homes. The property included a golf course, motel, and mobile home community. In 1964, Welk purchased 900 acres (360 ha) of mostly undeveloped land near Escondido, California, 20 miles (32.2 km) north of San Diego.