Should you buy a time-share?

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These questions — prompted by interviews with more than a dozen hotel executives, industry watchers and time-share owners — can help you decide.

• Do you take a vacation every year?

If the answer is no, then stick with hotels. Since annual maintenance fees run as high as $1,000, skipping a year on your time-share means lost money. Renting out your week, while possible, is a spotty proposition.

• Do hotel rooms cramp your style?

Space remains a large selling point for time-share units, which usually come closer to apartments than hotel rooms. Many units have washers and dryers, and at least a kitchenette.

• Do you like to be pampered?

Forget room service at a time-share. You can often forget towel service too.

Some have hotel-like amenities, including full-service restaurants, spas, tennis courts and other extras. Pools are pretty standard. But it's hit and miss.

• Do you mind planning ahead?

Because the competition for prime time-share resorts can be stiff, those wanting to swap their week for a stay somewhere else generally have to make the request about nine months to a year in advance. That said, those with popular weeks often have their pick of roomy units across the globe. Miami-based Interval International, one of the top two time-share exchange networks, features resorts in Egypt, Australia, Finland, Malta, Brazil, Kenya.
 
• Can you afford it?

Most time-shares cost between $10,000 and $20,000, though three weeks at a Ritz-Carlton resort can run as high as $500,000. Then there are the management fees, probably somewhere between $400 and $1,000 a year.

Time-share boosters note that the kitchens in the units let people save money by avoiding restaurants, and the extra space makes an evening in the room a palatable option.

• Are you committed?

Bill Rogers, who runs a time-share owners website, www.tug2.net, said timeshare weeks typically lose half of their value on the resale market. That's why he urges people to consider time-shares like a car (which depreciates) instead of real estate (which gains value).

Of course, you never count on getting a return on the money you spend each year on a cramped hotel room — except for the memories.