Thomas Wood of Oregon, a Marriott owner in Park City, said, however, that he has found he can indeed make money on rentals — if he can obtain the proper weeks. "If I get the week of the (Sundance) film festival, I can rent it for $1,000 a night," for example, he said.

Because of broken-promise horror stories, Utah includes a warning sheet that those who purchase timeshares from developers must read and sign. It warns, in part, "All terms of purchase and other promises should be in writing."

Howard Nussbaum, president of the American Resort Development Association, the voice of the timeshare industry, said, "I would be disingenuous if I said every single salesman is honest and followed the law. But most companies have zero tolerance" for making promises that are not included in contracts.

Maintenance fees

Many owners report that they become hostage to whatever increases in annual maintenance fees that their developers or management companies care to impose.

That often depends largely on what type of timeshare they buy — and whether buyers end up owning units with recorded deeds or the developer retains ownership.

Some timeshares are sold as "right to use" vacation intervals. Companies such as Trendwest, Disney and others sell points or credits. They can be redeemed for weeks or days at units for amounts that vary depending upon their size, desirability and time of year.

While that offers a lot of flexibility on how vacations may be taken, the ownership of such developments remains with the developer.

"Since they own it, they can charge what they want" in annual maintenance fees, and contracts force buyers to pay it, said Byron Wiegand, a former timeshare developer who is now president of the California-based Timeshare Resale Alliance.

He said that may be all right if a developer is benevolent or is a big national hotel chain worried about its long-term public reputation. "But for others, they can just fleece people forever with special assessments and dues," Wiegand says.

Nussbaum with ARDA also warns that the potential exists that a points-only vacation club developer could walk away from the business or go bankrupt, leaving clients with nothing.

"It has happened," Wiegand said. And, he added, such companies could lower service levels or sell to other companies that offer poor service with little recourse for points-only owners.

Utah government writes on warning sheets to timeshare purchasers, "Do not purchase any timeshare just for the benefits derived from use exchange programs. There is no guarantee of the continuance, permanency or site availability of such programs."