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Re: Why Buy a Timeshare? (by Bruce K.):

Never buy a timeshare--new or resale. The maintenance fees are not worth it. We own Marriott Ko Olina and it has been a disaster. $1600 a year in fees--$200+ a night for our 7 nights. If you paid $30K for the TS, add another $1K per week ($143/night), assuming a 30 year ownership period. Now you're at $343/night and they have use of your $30K upfront. If you have the $30K cash up front and serious discipline, put it in a fixed income security. Also, contribute what your maintenance fees would be into this investment. If you earn 1% per year (after taxes) over 30 years, that $30K and annual fees would be worth $96,301.26

At the end of 30 years, the TS would cost $126,301 (assuming you paid all cash). A loan would cost even more. If you went to a 5 star property and paid $500/night (including tax, so about $450+taxes) for a 7 night stay over 30 years, the cost would be $105,000. And you get complete flexibility of where/when you stay. If you will down your property, the recipients must be in a position to afford the fees as well. There's some time value of money to factor into the pay as you model, but it still would be less than $126K. Further, by renting from us, you can considerably save, as rentals go for a lot less than $500/night.

The ROI is negative. Renting the unit is useless, as offers are less than the maintenance fees. With thousands of desperate owners willing to rent their units for a loss, you're better off exploiting us poor owners.

I looked into Donate For a Cause and as others have stated, it's not like dropping off old clothes at the Goodwill on December 31st. They have to want your unit and if they accept it, it will be a distress sale and you might get 5-10% of what you paid for it they said. So a $30K unit might be a $3K tax credit--if you're lucky. They know the vast majority of donors can't afford their maintenance fees and want out.