Affordable Lodging: Rent a Time-Share

Sharing a hotel room with kids isn't much of a vacation for parents. But rather than booking two hotel rooms, you can rent a time-share unit, get more space, and save 20%-60%. Professionally-managed time-share units offer all the perks of a vacation rental -- kitchen, washer/dryer, living room -- minus the uncertainty of renting directly from owners. Too good to be true?

I talked to some industry experts for their tips on how to rent one-bedroom time-share units by the night or week. Read these expert money-saving tips in the December issue of Money magazine or here on CNNMoney.com.

While reporting this piece, I was surprised to learn that time-share resorts have shifted their marketing tactics. Instead of relying on pushy telemarketers promoting vacation deals that are linked to dreaded time-share presentations, more resorts are releasing their unused time-share units as nightly rentals. "Rentals introduce guests to time-shares in a softer way than giving a mini vacation that's tied to a tour," says Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA). "You may receive an incentive to tour, such as $75 off at the spa, but it's voluntary now." In 2010, 10% of all occupied time-share units were renters, compared to the 3% who were marketing guests, according to a study commissioned by the ARDA Foundation. Average rental price? $156 per night.

After speaking to several industry experts, I came away with these three tips:

Know what to look for. Time-share properties affiliated with hotel chains are easy to overlook since they're often advertised as "vacation clubs," not time-shares. Complicating matters, major hotel chains often have a time-share property that's overshadowed by a more well-known sister brand. For example, Scottsdale's Westin Kierland Villas is less than a mile from the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. Reputable chains with timeshare rentals include Disney, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Starwood, and Wyndham. For luxury brands like Four Seasons, or St. Regis, nightly rentals of villas or condos will be listed as "Residence Club" instead -- these higher-end properties are technically classified as fractional-ownership units, but the regular traveler won't know the difference.

Time-shares are more prevalent than you might think, so don't assume that time-share units won't be available. It may help to know that beach destinations account for 30% of all time-share resort types, golf destinations make up 11%, and ski destinations make up 10%, ARDA reports. Florida leads the way with the most time-share resorts, followed by the mountain region (including Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona). While Orlando and Las Vegas are among the most well-known time-share destinations, Hilton Head Island, S.C., is often overlooked, says Mark Eble, regional vice president of PKF Consulting. In California, consider Carlsbad (just north of San Diego) and Orange County's San Clemente; on the East Coast, check out Myrtle Beach, says Tom LaTour, chairman and CEO of LaTour Hotels and Resorts management company. Minimum-stay requirements of two or three nights may apply during a property's high season.

Search websites that list time-share rentals across multiple brands. Compare prices on Endless Vacation Rentals (www.evrentals.com), which includes weekly rentals from Disney Vacation Club, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and more time-share brands. For nightly timeshare rentals, try ResorTime.com (www.resortime.com). "These are online agencies that work with the properties, so they have a bigger allotment of inventory than sites that deal with one-to-one rentals," says Peter Gust, vice president of resort operations for Tapestry Resorts timeshare management company.

And as someone who can spend hours online searching for vacation rentals, there is something to be said about knowing that more than one unit will (likely) be available. I've been so disappointed after I found the perfect vacation rental -- and then realized that it was booked solid. At least with professionally-managed time-share units, you know there will be more than one condo or villa that offers what you're looking for.

Cheap Sleep this Holiday Season

Holiday travel usually means bracing for out-of-control prices for airfare and hotel rooms.

I checked with the experts who know how to find a bargain and found that at least three U.S. destinations were poised to have cheaper hotels this Christmas versus last year. Drumroll, please!

San Diego

Maui

Vail Valley, Colo. (that's Vail and Beaver Creek)

Check out the story in the November issue of Money magazine or here on CNNMoney.com.

Thanks to the statisticians at Expedia.com, Bob Diener of Getaroom.com, Evan Reece of Liftopia.com, and Hawaii hospitality expert Joseph Toy for proving that there are holiday bargains out there.

Donate Your Travel-Size Toiletries

Last night, I cleaned out my somewhat embarrassing collection of travel-size toiletries. My office is having a donation drive for a local shelter. Though my cupboards are bare (I don't eat much canned food), I knew I could help out with a few toiletries.

Turns out that I had more than a few unused bars of soap and unopened containers of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion that I'd accumulated from hotel stays and press events over the past year. And then there were the tubes of travel-size toothpaste that came with my frequent Drugstore.com orders, and the travel-size contact lens solution sample from my eye doctor.

Thanks to Starwood, Wyndham, Hyatt, Hilton, Sedona's Enchantment Resort, New York City's Trump SoHo, and other hotels for providing me with these goodies. I fully intended to use everything, but there are only so many bars and bottles that I can get through. And these were just the toiletries that I found in the linen closet. I have to admit that I uncovered more when I opened the cabinet beneath the bathroom sink.

Many hotel chains already donate travel-size toiletries to charities or local shelters. Clean the World (www.cleantheworld.org) also accepts donations of soap.

Weeding through everything was a nice way to remember all the places that I've been lucky enough to visit. And it was totally worth lugging the heavy bag of toiletries to work this morning on the subway.

Photo by: Amy Chen

Video: How to Shuck an Oyster

It's not every day that you get to meet a Guinness World Record holder. I recently met up with Patrick McMurray, a Toronto restaurateur who currently holds the Guinness title for shucking the most oysters in a minute (38 to be precise).

He demonstrated his technique for me at Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City's Grand Central Terminal. Though he wasn't in competition mode, McMurray still made it seem effortless.



Want to be able to shuck like an expert? McMurray has developed an ergonomic oyster knife (www.shuckerpaddy.com, C$30). I tested out the knife, and even I managed to pop open an oyster (OK, so I received lots of help).

How Steve Jobs Improved the Way We Travel

Steve Jobs died yesterday, leaving behind a generation of travelers who can explore the world more easily -- thanks to much of the technology that he pioneered.

Pre-smartphone, I used to get hopelessly lost in New York City's SoHo and Lower East Side. Now the idea of not being able to map directions on my iPhone 4 seems so archaic.

Just a year ago, I was waiting for my T-Mobile contract to end so I could switch over to AT&T and finally get an iPhone. In the last few months before my T-Mobile contract ran out, I used an iPod Touch as a short-term solution.

I wrote about the experience of traveling overseas with an iPod Touch for AOL's Gadling. As a traveler who wanted to pack light, the first-generation iPad and fourth-generation iPod Touch revolutionized the way I could get around. No more netbook, which only the year before seemed like a lightweight solution. And as long as I could find a free Wi-Fi spot, I could skip the dodgy Internet cafes.

And remember calling cards? When I lived in London eight years ago, I had to use international calling cards with unwieldy PINs. Now there's Skype that works from my iPhone. True, roaming fees are still out of control but for the most part, the iPhone/iPad has improved the way I travel.

Who knows what else Steve Jobs would've come up with next?