Stay in a condo, not a hotel
One of the best ways to save money on your travel is to stay in a condo rather than a hotel room. The benefits are untold, and the savings are huge, especially if you vacation regularly.
A condo that sleeps four, will cost less than, or about equivalent to a week at a hotel for one room. In many cases it is far less expensive because a condo sleeps more people, and offers extra room compared to a hotel room, for the same, or often lower price. Your per person cost is going to go down greatly.
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The average hotel room costs about $120 a night, and sleeps two. This means for a week, you will be paying about $800 or more. You can get a condo for a week that sleeps for, generally for around $1000, sometimes less. So, the first savings is in the lodging cost.
A condo is going to save you money because it has a kitchen. A kitchen means you can buy yourself a box of cereal (average $3.50) and a gallon of milk ($2.50) and eat breakfast for a whole week for $6. That is less than one breakfast eaten out is going to cost you. It means you can bring along some snacks, cook a few meals, have a fridge for leftovers when you do eat out, and have a microwave to reheat, pop popcorn, etc.
Staying in a condo does not diminish the quality of experience of your vacation. Let's crunch some numbers, and show how much you can save, and what the difference will be in the vacation.
For a week long vacation (7 days), you have to eat approximately 21 meals per person. In addition you will want some drinks, snacks, etc. The average cost of eating a meal out at a fast food place is $6.50 a person. The average for eating at a restaurant is higher than that. The average per person to cook a quality meal in, is $3 a person. This means the savings are at least $4 or so a meal. This is a generous estimate, as often the difference is much higher. If you have a kitchen, and eat half of those meals in, rather than out, you are going to save $40 or more per person. For a family of 4, that is $120. If you add in snacking, sodas, etc. you are looking at even greater savings.
Most condos have recreational facilities just like a hotel. They also usually offer the advantage of televisions with dvd players, which can help entertain little ones during "down time". This is far more cost effective then finding places to keep them entertained.
Most condos also have a washer and dryer, or laundry facility of some sort. This can save you from paying for extra luggage on a plane, from buying new clothes while vacationing because you under packed, had an accident, etc. It is also extremely convenient.
In addition to the savings found if you rent your condo for a week, if you were to buy a condo, such as a time share that offers credits towards using condos in their various locations, you may find even greater savings over the life of your purchase.
