Apollo’s Diamond Resorts Enters Manhattan With Timeshare Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Diamond Resorts, the timeshare company owned by Apollo Global Management Inc., is entering the Manhattan market in a bid to appeal to younger vacationers.

Las Vegas-based Diamond signed a deal with lodging owner Highgate to rent units at two Midtown properties, the Park Central and the WestHouse, giving the timeshare company its first New York City presence.

Diamond has been courting millennials with concerts, live events and urban locations, and adding a New York property fits that strategy, Chief Executive Officer Mike Flaskey said in an interview. The company is also converting a ballroom at the Park Central into a sales office, and will station staff in the lobbies of other Highgate properties in New York to market timeshares.

Timeshare companies, which sell fractional stakes in vacation properties, have long catered to young families by offering units that include kitchens and extra bedrooms. That demographic now includes millennials, a generation known for embracing city life. Wyndham Destinations Inc. and Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. have long offered Manhattan properties.

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc., another timeshare company that has been investing in Manhattan, has attracted bids from potential buyers including Apollo, Bloomberg reported in October.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Clark in New York at pclark55@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Giammona at cgiammona@bloomberg.net, Christine Maurus

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