The inventory of time-share properties in Waikiki got bigger last week after the world’s largest time-share developer completed a 4-year-old plan to convert the former Royal Garden at Waikiki hotel for use by its customers.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership opened the 140-unit property at 440 Olohana St., between Kuhio Avenue and the Ala Wai Canal, to its time-share customers last week, and plans to begin sales of time-share interests at the Royal Garden within the next month.

The conversion resumes a trend of time-share market expansion in Oahu’s urban resort area after the recession. Previous development included the 331-unit Hilton Grand Waikikian, which opened in late 2008, and 195 units at Wyndham’s Waikiki Beach Walk property that opened in 2006.

Major additions are planned by Hilton, which proposes to build two more towers with about 500 time-share units on its Waikiki property. Hilton also bought the shuttered Ohana Islander Waikiki Hotel earlier this year and plans to convert the tower’s 143 one-bedroom suites to time shares by 2013.

Florida-based Wyndham bought the Royal Garden in late 2007 and was set to begin extensive renovations that entailed gutting all rooms and combining some of them into one- and two-bedroom suites.

The recession led to some reassessment of the plan, though Wyndham remained committed to the conversion and kept the property open for hotel rentals during the longer-than-anticipated renovation period.

Now that renovations are complete, Wyndham opened the Royal Waikiki to existing time-share customers. "There’s a high level of expectations from our time-share owner base as far as the quality they expect," said Dusty Tonkin, executive vice president for the Western/Pacific region of Wyndham’s time-share division. "They’re going to have the best. Walking into a unit, it’s going to feel brand-new."

The addition gives Wyndham about 1,500 time-share units at 15 properties in Hawaii. Globally the company has developed 20,500 units for roughly 800,000 owners.

Tonkin declined to disclose prices and annual fees for time-share interests at the Royal Garden. Tonkin also declined to disclose how much renovations cost.

Wyndham spent $54 million converting the 195-unit Ohana Reef Towers hotel at Waikiki Beach Walk into time shares. That project is nearly sold out.

According to property records, Wyndham paid $43 million to acquire the Royal Garden from private investment firm Jupiter Holdings Group.

The 25-story tower was once known as the Pleasant Hawaiian Hotel and had 220 rooms, though a prior owner sold about 80 rooms to individual buyers as resort condominiums, reducing the number of units acquired by Jupiter and Wyndham.