How to Get Rid of a Marriott Timeshare – Is it a scam? Updated Sept. 2025
The Marriott Vacation Club is one of the biggest timeshare organizations in the world. There are dozens of properties directly included in the portfolio, and owners also have access to countless other properties through Marriott Bonvoy and Interval International. To be sure, anyone who loves to travel the world would be intrigued by what the Marriott program has to offer.
So, if Marriott timeshares have so much to offer, why would you be thinking about leaving? As it turns out, the timeshare experience doesn’t always wind up being as appealing as it looks at first, something we’ll talk about more below. If you are ready to leave your Marriott timeshare, or you at least want to explore the possibility, we’ll offer some helpful information below.
Marriott is a Huge Timeshare Player
The impact that the Marriott brand has on the timeshare world can’t be overstated. The properties available to owners in the Marriott Vacation Club span the globe and include villa-style accommodations and resort-like amenities. Going through a sales presentation with someone from the Marriott Vacation Club is sure to leave you impressed and thinking that it seems like an obvious choice to join and enjoy the luxurious travel that awaits.
By now, if you are reading this page, you know that the sales pitch left a few things out. Sure, the properties are gorgeous, but they might be all booked up at the times you would like to travel. And, despite what it may have sounded like at first, you could end up spending far more money on your timeshare than you expected as the years pass. In the end, the timeshare life hasn’t been what you thought it would be, and your primary goal at this point is simply to get out of Marriott timeshare.
You Stand to Benefit in Many Ways By Leaving
At first, the motivation for leaving your timeshare will seem obvious. You want to get away from the ongoing maintenance fees that you no longer feel like are bringing you sufficient value for your money. In other words, you aren’t using your timeshare enough, or enjoying it enough, to justify the money that you have to spend on it each year.
And that’s fair enough. But what some people are surprised by is the other benefits they enjoy once they leave a timeshare. For example, they may start to think about other types of vacations that they could take outside of the timeshare ecosystem. Without feeling obligated to use the timeshare each time you travel, you may remember about other places that you’ve always wanted to visit, or things you’ve wanted to try. If those options have felt closed off or out of reach while you have been a timeshare owner, they could suddenly be in play again once you are free of this contract.
What Other People Say About Marriott Timeshares
Are you the only owner who is unhappy with your experience and would like to cancel Marriott timeshare? Hardly. As the reviews you can find online will show, this is actually a rather common situation to be in. Many owners are unhappy with something about their experience, and many others are unhappy with how they were treated during sales presentations, even if they never did become owners.
We can take a look around the web to find some examples of various complaints people have made. Let’s start by visiting Trustpilot. Here, the Marriott Vacation Club earns a total score of 1.3 stars, based on nearly 400 reviews.
As you start to read through the reviews, the story sounds familiar if you know what timeshare owners usually have problems with in their experience. Specifically, that means having the actual experience of owning the timeshare falls far short of what they expected at the start. It’s a common experience for timeshare owners to believe that what they were told during the sales presentation doesn’t wind up coming true later on. Here is one example of many posted on the Trustpilot site.
You can look around the web and find similar patterns of reviews in other places. On the BBB website, for instance, Marriott Vacations Worldwide earns a score of 1.17 out of almost 250 reviews. Based on the comments of hundreds of other owners or prospective owners, you certainly aren’t alone in your desire to move on with your life and exit Marriott timeshare.
How Do People Get Out of Timeshares, Anyway?
Let’s step away from Marriott specifically for a moment to talk about the prospect of leaving a timeshare in general. How does it even happen? It can feel like a magic trick to those who haven’t been able to pull it off just yet. Of course, it’s not magic, but it does take patience and persistence.
The first step in trying to get out of your timeshare might be surprising. It’s simply to call or email the timeshare company to explain your situation. Let them know that you want to get out of your contract and ask them if there are any options available for people in your situation. There might not be, but it’s certainly worth asking. Sometimes, timeshare companies will have programs available for people who want to be done, so you would be making a big mistake if you don’t even ask about the options.
Another tactic you can explore is to attempt a sale of the timeshare to another party. You do have the right to sell it, so long as you can find someone who is willing to buy it. There are a variety of places online where you can list a timeshare for sale, so you might as well put up a listing to see if you might get lucky. Finding buyers for timeshares is notoriously difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Isn’t It Better to Keep a Timeshare Than Pay to Exit?
You’ve probably landed on this page because you are tired of spending money on your timeshare. And that is certainly understandable. So, you might view the idea of hiring a timeshare exit company with frustration, as it would obviously mean spending more money on this matter. In fact, you may even be thinking that you’d rather just keep paying your timeshare dues than go ahead with the hiring of an exit company.
This is the time to think about the bigger picture and the long-term vision you have for your life, however. If you don’t want to be a timeshare owner for the long run, you are going to need to get out eventually. And, if you haven’t been able to get out on your own, it might be helpful to work with someone who specializes in this process. So, by spending the money now, you will hopefully be able to leave the timeshare properly in the months to come, and then you’ll be free of those ongoing payments forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have covered some good ground on this page so far, and you probably have a better idea of what is needed to leave your timeshare. With that said, you may still have more questions, so we hope this quick FAQ section is helpful.
Q: Is it possible to legally exit a timeshare?
A: Yes, it is. While it can feel impossible at times to get away from your timeshare, the reality is that countless people are able to leave timeshare ownership each and every year. If you would like to leave yours, be consistent with your efforts and trust that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
Q: Do I still owe maintenance fees while going through the exit process?
A: You will need to continue to pay your maintenance fees while trying to exit your timeshare. That might feel frustrating, and we certainly understand your frustration, but it’s important to keep your account current along the way. This will make things easier in the end when you are finally able to leave.
Q: Can’t I just cancel my timeshare and move on?
A: Sadly, no. Most timeshare contracts are perpetual, and they don’t include the option for the owner to simply cancel and walk away. You will need to use one of the exit strategies we discussed earlier on this page if you are going to get out properly and be able to move on with a clean slate.
It’s Never Too Soon to Start
Once you’ve decided that you don’t want to own your Marriott timeshare any longer, it’s important to start working on your exit. This process can take a while, but don’t let that hold you back from putting the wheels in motion. Instead, call us right now at 619-354-2362 to talk about the options and learn more about how to cancel Marriott timeshare. Your future self will thank you for taking action today!