How I Paid Half Price for a Month-Long Stay at a Ski Resort

Several years ago, I was planning a months-long road trip with my family, and I knew immediately where our first destination would be: Colorado. I've lived up and down the East Coast my entire life and visited the West Coast several times, but I had never been to that area of the country.

Once we settled on Colorado, we opened the Airbnb app in search of an apartment that would be big enough for my family of four for one month, located somewhere relatively close to the Rocky Mountains.

We searched through a dozen or so apartment listings until we came across one that was just the right size for us, and because we booked for an entire month, we scored 50% off our stay, paying $2,565 compared to the usual price of more than $5,000.

Half-priced stay with full resort benefits

When we booked the apartment, we had no idea it was at a ski resort in Colorado. It was the beginning of the summer, so skiing was not on our minds at the time, and the pictures the Airbnb host had taken and the description of the place didn't mention that the apartment was part of the small resort town.

When we finally got the address, I remember typing it into Google Maps, zooming in on the location, and realizing that for an entire month, we'd be staying at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by restaurants, shops, a mountain roller coaster, zip lines, and hiking trails.

Not only had we scored a fantastic half-priced deal, but we also stumbled upon an excellent Airbnb apartment entirely by chance.

The Airbnb host contacted us shortly after we booked and wanted to know if we would like a larger apartment -- for a much higher price -- instead of the much cheaper one. We declined and kept the booking for the cheaper apartment to stay within our budget.

We spent the month taking advantage of most of the resort amenities, visiting nearby towns, and having a snowball fight with my sons in June (a rare treat for a Southern-based family) because there was leftover snow from the winter.

You can find a good deal when you're looking for one

If you're using Airbnb for your next extended getaway, try searching for a date range of 28 days or more. If the host has set up a discount for month-long stays, Airbnb will display discounts of 10% or more. The app also allows hosts to set weekly discounts.

Of course, you don't need to book an extended trip through Airbnb to find a good travel deal. According to Google, if you're flying to a domestic destination, leaving on a Monday through Wednesday could save you 12% to 20% off your ticket price compared to weekend flights.

Setting up a vacation budget ahead of time is also a good idea. Figure out how much you'll spend on travel expenses, lodging, food, and entertainment. You may also want to factor in miscellaneous costs that are sure to pop up while you're traveling.

And finally, if you're an avid traveler, consider a travel credit card. With these cards, you can earn rewards like travel miles and points you can redeem later for travel discounts. Some even offer free checked bags, so you don't have to pay a luggage fee.

Sometimes finding great deals requires a little effort to stay within your travel budget, but it's worth spending some time on it. My family had a general plan for where we wanted to stay and how much we wanted to spend, so that we didn't derail our personal finances. This meant finding a half-priced deal was important for our trip.

Just maybe don't pay too close attention to the finer details of a vacation rental when you book -- you may be pleasantly surprised when you find out the address.