We LOVE to travel! Since I’m usually the one in charge of our travel planning, I’m always trying to get the best vacation for the least amount of money possible. My motto is: the less money you spend actually traveling to & staying at your destination, the more money you have leftover to partake in souvenirs, local shopping & cuisine {which is our personal preference}. I don’t know about you, but whenever I ever heard the word “Timeshare” I would cringe a little bit. It just always sounded too good to be true & sort of inconvenient. When I received the opportunity to check out RedWeek.com, a timeshare rentals, resales & exchanges website that promised no middleman or tours, I was intrigued.
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Since it’s Summer, I started thinking about tropical places that we have talked about traveling to that would normally be expensive. I immediately thought of Hawaii. It looks nice, but all I have ever heard about Hawaii was how crazy expensive it is, so farther down our “Places to Go” list it resides. Lo & behold, there was Hawaii on RedWeek.com’s Top Timeshare Rental Destinations starting at $129/night! NO WAY!! I had to look further. Too good to be true right?! Turns out we would be able to save about $10 a night & have access to a full kitchen, laundry, wi-fi, tennis courts, BBQ, volleyball courts & free parking with this view!
This HAD to be a fluke, so I kept looking. I was browsing through the Newest Rentals feed when a St. John Villa listing caught my eye for $229/night. I went to the hotel’s official site to compare prices for the same week & the rates were $699/night! Holy savings traveler!!
Not too shabby!!
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For consistency, I wanted to check ONE MORE place just to be SURE this was something worth it before reading the fine print. I chose something stateside, but equally Fabulous. There was a listing for New York City within walking distance to Central Park, Lincoln Center, 5th Ave., Time Square, Radio City and the theaters for $250/night vs. the $430/night retail price!
Color me impressed! Ok, so RedWeek.com has great properties with great prices, so how do you get in on the savings?! RedWeek.com has a Top Timeshare Rental Destinations section as well a search option where you can specify the location or resort with your date/occupant/bedroom requirements. You can choose to rent, sale or exchange, as well as specifying if you want All-Inclusive, Pet Friendly, Beach, Golf, Casino, Kid Friendly, etc. properties. By utilizing this for-sale-by-owner type method, you can seal the deal on your next getaway by following a simple 3 step process.
- Find a timeshare resort.
- Contact timeshare owners. {There is a $14.99/year fee to rent, but RedWeek.com is graciously giving away a 2 year membership FREE below!}
- Finalize your rental & enjoy!
- The renting agreement is between you & the owner. You can facilitate this agreement in 1 of 2 ways.
1)Vacation Rental Escrow Service {small fee that is split between owner & renter} but safest legally.
2)Private Managed Transaction
Verdict
My mind has been changed about the timeshare process, at least through RedWeek.com. My family would be able to save SO much money while staying in FABULOUS accommodations in locations we normally would not be able to afford! I’m just bummed our vacation time is already planned out this year!
What are your thoughts on timeshares?
**I received a complimentary 1 year membership to RedWeek.com in exchange for review.
