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Festiva (fka Festiva Development Group, Festiva Hospitality Group) was founded in 2000 as a vacation ownership company based in Asheville, NC that owns and operates 24 resorts in the United States and Caribbean with a reported membership base in 2007 of more than 60,000.

Founding
Festiva was founded in 2000 by Donald K. Clayton and Herbert H. “Butch” Patrick, Jr. who had worked together at Peppertree Resorts, where Clayton served as SVP of sales and marketing. In the late '90s, the company’s owner, Wayne Kinser, sold Peppertree to a public company, Equivest.

After the company's sale, Clayton and Patrick found that their personal business philosophies did not align with those of the new owners, so the two partnered to form Festiva. “We had a lot of good ideas but not a lot of capital,” said Clayton. “We were fortunate to have made many good friends in the industry over the years, and they helped us to secure sales and marketing contracts. We started Festiva Resorts to help turn around troubled resort properties.”

Initial Funding
To launch Festiva, the partners needed funding. They turned to Colebrook Funding, a new startup lender, for one of the company's first cash infusions in the form of a loan, a partnership that still exists today.

Growth
In 2005, Festiva added several properties to its network by entering into a long-term master affiliation agreement with Interval International, a global provider of membership and leisure services to the vacation industry. This agreement added properties to their network such as Ellington at Wachesaw Plantation in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina; The Church Street Inn in Charleston, South Carolina; and The Cabins at Green Mountain in Branson, Missouri.

After seven years of operation, CLayton and Patrick acquired Equivest Vacation and Travel Club Inc. (formerly Peppertree Vacation Club, Inc.), which was the company they had left in 2000 due to disagreements with management. This acquisition gained them properties in Myrtle Beach, SC and Atlantic Beach, NC. The company already owned and managed properties, including a yacht chartering agency, in the Caribbean.

The Great Recession
During the recession that began in 2008, vacation ownership companies took an understandable hit. Festiva weathered the period with funds provided, again, by Coleman Financial. “If not for Colebrook, I’m not sure we would have made it through the recession,” Clayton said. “They never missed a beat with us.”

KGI and ETourandTravel
In December 2013 Festiva acquired Kosmas Group International that included properties in New Smyrna Beach, FL and Kissimmee, FL, as well as new subsidiary ETourandTravel, an Orlando-based travel agency that sells discounted Florida vacation packages. ETourandTravel had existing agreements with major partners that included major hotels and resorts as well as brands such as Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. ETourandTravel served 20,000 families in 2012.

Retirement
In 2015 Co-founder and CEO Donald Clayton retired from the company. Herbert "Butch" Patrick assumed the dual role of CEO and President. Clayton remains a member of the board.

New Funding
Festiva received a $7.5 million loan from Colebrook Financial in August 2015. “We very much appreciate working with Colebrook to lock in our margins to refinance a portfolio that was associated with our earlier acquisition of the Kosmas Group International properties,” said Festiva’s CEO Herbert "Butch" Patrick. “Colebrook has been a solid company with which to work since 2003 when they lent us our first million.”

Resorts
Festiva resorts are located in the following locations:

Company Structure
By 2004, the company had grown to a point that a Restructuring was necessary. A new privately held Parent company was formed over the previous company, Festiva Development Group, and all of the newly formed subsidiaries. Zealandia Holding Company was inserted as the parent company, while Festiva Resorts was repositioned as the brand name for all of the resorts.

Festiva, its current name, owns subsidiaries Festiva Adventure Club, travel agency and business development subsidiary ETourandTravel, as well as vacation and ownership resorts located in the United States and Caribbean.

Zealandia Capital was formed as a financial lending and loan servicing organization for Festiva vacation owners.

Patton Hospitality Management was created to manage the company's properties. This includes all of the resorts and the Festiva Sailing Vacations.

Charitable Contributions
In August 2015 Festiva donated $1,500 to the western North Carolina-based Black Mountain Home for Children. "These funds will go toward the aid and support of children, from infancy through college graduation, who have been abused, abandoned or neglected."

In July 2015 Festiva donated $2,000 to the Charleston-based LowCountry Ministries’ Reverend Pinckney Fund. Reverend Pinckney was killed in a Church shooting that took place at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston. During a prayer service, nine people were killed by a gunman, including Pinckney. Police arrested a suspect, identified as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, in Shelby, North Carolina. Festiva also made a $500 cash contribution on behalf of an employee of its Church Street Inn property who is a fellow congregant of the Emanuel AME Church.

In November 2014 Festiva conducted an annual Charity Auction to raise money for holiday toy charities. The auction yielded $11,300, which was donated to Eblen Charity’s St. Nicholas Project, the U.S. Marine Corp's Toys for Tots, and the Salvation Army’s Giving Tree to support families in need around western North Carolina.