Phil Hayworth - The Garden Island
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A little Kaua‘i timeshare company is hitting the big time.

Time Share Liquidators of Hawaii, LLC., with headquarters in the Banyan Harbor Resort in Nawiliwili, is ranked by a local business publication as one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in the state.

“Our success has really been a combination of explosive timeshare growth, an upturn in tourism, and we’ve built a loyal customer base,” said Ben Bregman, who along with his wife, Nancy, are the managing partners.

The couple will be in Honolulu tonight for an award ceremony, and the top 50 list — along with Time Share Liquidator’s position among the elite group — will be revealed Friday by Pacific Business News.

Time Share Liquidators began in 1998 with the help of two Kaua‘i investors, Fred Atkins of Kilohana in Puhi, and local attorney Pat Childs. That first year, they pulled in $300,000 in revenue. This year, they’re on track to hit $2 million, with five employees and five sales agents operating out the Banyan Harbor Resort on Kaua‘i and a Waikiki resort.

“Everybody told me I was crazy when I went out on my own, that I couldn’t compete with the big guys,” Bregman said. “My feeling is that, to be successful, you’ve either got to be the first one with an idea, or to do it better than the next guy.”

His success, he figures, is that he simply is doing it better than the next guy, or at least able to offer what the big guys offer.

Bregman says that, by doing all his financing in-house, he’s able to quickly resell any property that goes into default. Even more, typical interest rates for timeshares are nearer that of credit cards — around 14 percent.

Hence, interest and the ability to resell on defaulted property is a big part of his profit center, says Bregman, as well as offering prices he says are typically half that of larger companies.