From the outside it was a well run HOTEL. It was behind the scenes and for investors that it was a nightmare. They had a very hard time keeping staff, had to pay more then average, constant issues with investors - customer service staff always feeling the brunt of it.
Contrary to the article they were selling timeshare, fractional ownership and selling shares of various companies well before Catledge and his group got involved. They had a whole division that did timeshare and "real estate" sales.