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Growing up some of my best family memories took place at Snowbird ski resort in Utah. We went there annually with my mom's side of the family and it was always a good time. As a child I did not know or understand that this great yearly opportunity was due to a time share. Now I have learned the beauty of a time share!

What is it?

Do you know what a time share is? According to Wikipedia :

"A timeshare is a form of ownership or right to the use of a property, or the term used to describe such properties. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each sharer is allotted a period of time (typically one week, and almost always the same time every year) in which they may use the property."

My families timeshare was a week we had annually where we "owned" a certain unit for that week each year. There are many benefits of Timeshares, not the least of which is that is saves MONEY!! Generally timeshares are about 50% less than hotel rooms (especially when rented from the owner). They are also usually spacious and include kitchen space so you can save food money by cooking at you place of lodging.

Now, if you are like me and cannot afford to buy into a timeshare right now, you might want to look into timeshare rentals. What is that you ask? Well, sometimes an owner cannot use their week for one reason or another and they rent it out to someone else.

As I mentioned I loved our Snowbird timeshare, so I was intrigued by the idea of timeshare rentals, but I did not know where or how to find available timeshare rentals until I was asked to do this review/giveaway!

Redweek.com is a website that lists available timeshare rentals (and actually resales if you are ready to buy into a timeshare). Here is a fun fact: the "red week" in a time share is the prime week to own (like having a ski resort timeshare in the peak of ski season). It means it is "the best" and this company chose the name "Redweek" because they are striving to be the best! And I think the are doing well!!

For the purposes of this review, I was given free access to their member site for one year. I have already made use of it to research and start to plan a secret trip we may take for my birthday! Read on for more info and for a GIVEAWAY!!

What did I think of it?

Well, when I first logged on I noticed that right in the middle of the home page is “Top Timeshare Rental Destinations”. Looking through that you can easily see how inexpensive timeshare rentals can be. I was convinced of the price saving options right off and I began to search.

My husband took my birthday week in September off and told me he would like to see if we could swing it to FINALLY take our kids to Disney. We are flexible as to whether we will go to Orlando or Anaheim (probably Anaheim as we might be able to convince our families to come if we go there). So, I began searching for timeshare rentals in those 2 locations on that week. I also looked up hotels for that week.

Keep in mind we are a family of 7 so technically we would need 2 hotel rooms or a suite. Also keep in mind that these timeshare rentals are generally nice resorts and I was looking for something affordable AND nice (I do not want to stay in a cheap hot mess with my kids like I did on my honeymoon). A 2.5 star hotel was going to run me about $180 per night for our family size. I can get a luxury hotel with DVD Player, Dishwasher, Internet Access, Laundry - Dryer, Laundry - Washer, Microwave, Refrigerator - Full Size, Stereo, TV, Telephone, FREE parking, Children's pool, exercise room, spa, etc. for $175 per night. That SAVES me $5 a night AND gives me many more amenities and the ability to cook in room and save money! Not to mention it puts my family in 1 room that is spacious as opposed to 2 cramped hotel rooms.

I may not need to explicitly state this, but let me say that I am super excited to have access to this site and to find timeshare rentals for our upcoming vacation(s).

So what can you win?

RedWeek is allowing me to giveaway a FREE two-Year RedWeek membership!!! That is SWEET!

Here is how to enter the Giveaway (PLEASE make sure to leave an email address in each comment so I can reach you should you win):
What can you win: One lucky Beckee's Deals reader will win a FREE two-Year RedWeek membership
MANDATORY ENTRIES (Each of these count as a separate entry, but you must do BOTH of these entries first for other entries to count):

1-Go to RedWeek.com and come back here and leave a comment about something you learned about timeshares.

2-While on RedWeek.com, search for and find a resort. Come back here and comment with the name of the resort and the cheapest timeshare rental rate for that resort!

Once you have done those, you can get 6 extra entries by doing the following things (Just make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry, and leave me your email address in each comment so I know how to contact you should you win):

1. Become a PUBLIC GFC follower of my blog (If you are already a follower-that counts!).

2. Go Like Redweek on Facebook

3. Follow @redweektravel on Twitter

4. Subscribe to my blog via Email or an RSS feed/reader. (Yes-you can use this entry if you are already an email or RSS subscriber- just let me know how you subscribe to my blog).

5. Become a Facebook fan of my blog here.

6. Follow me on Twitter here.

Be sure to leave a comment for each entry with your email address. The winner will be chosen using Random.org. This giveaway ends on Saturday, August 13th at 11:59 PM Central Time.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.