Why all the pushback on a fee? Marriott is a business. They have costs associated with processing a deed back. In the end they're doing the owner a favor by releasing them from future maintenance fee payments. Yes, they are receiving back the ownership which they can stick in a trust or resell but in many cases they're facing the same economics as the owner with things renting for less than high maintenance fees, etc.
I think so many of us here are conditioned to immediately criticize Marriott for anything that they charge. There are options to avoid the fee but require more work on the part of the owner. If the owner decides they want to avoid that work/hassle and just have it handled to where they won't owe any more money, then paying a fee to do that is reasonable IMHO.