A friend of mine moved from a small condo to a larger house when he got married, but he couldn't sell the condo. So now he rents it out, and according to the IRS he is now a "property owner." This allows him to write off depreciation on the property in addition to the standard tax deductions on interest and property taxes.
The excess revenue generated by the rent now serves as his "play money" fund. The last time he and his wife went on vacation he made appointments to visit several realtors in Honolulu to see about purchasing a new condo. He had no interest in purchasing anything unless it met his miniscule budget (not likely in Hawaii), but because he was a legitimate rental property owner he was able to write off almost the entire cost of his trip (not his wife's costs, though).
I'd say that's not too bad.
Anyone who isn't in the same type of situation can do similar things. Check out the scheduled conferences or seminars for any professional groups in your field of work. Find one in a place where you always wanted to take a vacation, and schedule your trip around it. Better yet, take a few strangers from the conference out for an afternoon and play a round of golf on Uncle Sam.
By the way I own the propereties that my corporation operates in. The corporation rents from me....perfectly legal and moves money from the Corporation to my personal asset base over a period of time plus the types of benefits you spoke of.