Vistana Signature Experiences, a timeshare unit once owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., is being sold to Interval Leisure Group Inc. The deal has been valued for $1.5 billion, and the Interval Leisure Group will absorb all of the timeshare unit’s 22 timeshare resorts, 220,00 owners, and 5,000 employees. Vistana Signature Experiences, which has only been around for less than a year, was created by Starwood when the company decided to spin the timeshare ownership division into its own company. Read more about the company’s spin off in our previous post introducing Vistana Signature Experiences for a more in depth timeline of events.

So what does this mean for Starwood timeshare owners? Although Vistana Signature Experiences is being sold to Interval Leisure Group, existing timeshare owners will be able to use the Starwood Preferred Guest program retroactively. That includes Starwood ownership special features and perks, which include premium access to booking weeks and the opportunity to exchange weeks with other owners.

In addition, Interval Leisure Group also owns Interval International, the second largest timeshare exchange company in the industry. It’s likely that the Sheraton and Westin brands, also owned by Starwood, will now become exclusive to Interval International, giving timeshare owners access to exchange their timeshares with others within Interval International’s exchange pool.

Keep up-to-date on this ownership transition with SellMyTimeshareNow.com.