I didn't see this posted, but Inspirato now offers a second-class membership. For a $600 fee plus $600 a month (initial payment to include the first month is $1200), you get the right to book Inspirato properties at a per-night rate. I couldn't see the per-night rates published anywhere other than a statement that they range from $600 to $3000 a night.

This sounds horrid and furthermore, it will create competition for the pass members, competition which might even get priority because of the new revenue it brings in.

Anyone know more about this?

Edited to add: Someone has told me that this 'membership' has always existed. Sorry, it was new to me, I had just heard about the pass. Still seems like a lousy deal, though.

Specific properties are not my priority. :D :D :D
Many shorter stays during a one-month
US road trip involving many states-cities is...
Is it still possible for spouses to have (2) passes?
Is that still $2500x2? $5000/30=$167/night total...
Is there currently sign-up fee? :mad: :mad: :mad:
Does "all fees included" mean free parking?
Do any stays include breakfast?
I did 2-3 day out search "all US" & got 13 hits.
So a series of 4 night stays with (2) passes
might allow nationwide zigzag 28+ day road trip...? :confused: :confused: :confused:
But if 7-day forced gaps kick in, that's a deal killer...
Comments, advice appreciated :tu: :tu: :tu:

Just got this from Inspirato:

"These are good questions! First, there are a few rules with Pass that make it sustainable for us as a business in the long term.

• You can have one trip on the books at any time
• Upon checkout, you can then book your next arrival
• Trips can be booked for arrivals as early as two days out and up to a full year in advance
• There is a 7 night waiting period between reservations. This prevents over usage allowing people to essentially sell their homes and live in our portfolio for just $2,500/mo.

Most people look at Pass as it’s a monthly subscription to book as many nights as possible each month. However, I would encourage you to look at Pass as a quality vs. quantity product. If you were to take 3 or 4 week long trips over the next 6 months, and each of those trips were valued at $10,000 each, you can see how valuable Pass can be. Additionally, the further in advance you book, the more valuable the trip will be. We can’t give away two week-long trips valued at $10,000 each every two weeks or we’d go out of business pretty quick. Most members book trips 4-6 weeks in advance."

They're now offering a waiver of the initiation fee. Still not really enough for me to bite. For a month out, not a single week long booking for 6 people or more in Mexico, Central America, Florida, or Arizona.

I will say they have quite a budget for ads on YouTube. I can't look at any video without 15 seconds of Inspirato...

Good question, Richard. I've been a club member since 2014 and have been on over 40 Inspirato trips with my family. It's actually the other way around, and I'm happy to share my thoughts on the differences between membership and PASS.

Membership has been the bread and butter of Inspirato since the launch in 2011. Think of the membership model as as the travel version of a country club, with the residences being exclusive to Inspirato members. It has just evolved from being a flat one-time initiation fee plus annual dues (ie, $24,000 for Family membership, then $3,700 annually) to 12 payments of $2,000/month (plus annual dues), to now $600/month in perpetuity without annual dues. So there's less of an up front commitment which was a common objection for people who were concerned with "making up" the nut of the initiation fees. Those of us who joined under the old system were grandfathered in, so we only pay our annual dues. Lots of details about the club and specific pricing examples are posted in the main Inspirato thread, so I won't get too much into that other than what's below. Here's the other thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/non-...inspirato.html

Those of us who are members have access to the entire Inspirato portfolio, and we can book as many days as we want, whenever we want, up to one year out. PASS was initially created to as way to help fill up unused inventory & gain additional revenue, but it has become so popular that Inspirato has significantly increased the quantity of PASS trips available at any given time. And PASSholders now get full Inspirato membership perks, whereas that was a key differentiator in the past. PASS dates/locations/residences are fixed, whereas members can book whatever we want without restriction. Membership is great for those who need specific dates/locations. PASS is great for those who travel on relatively short notice and can be somewhat flexible with dates and locations (it's not a solution for road trips or multiple back to back trips though). But from a residence standpoint, PASS trips are a byproduct of what isn't booked through the membership side. However, where PASS availability is unaffected by the membership model is with the hotel partners. And because PASS is generally hotel-heavy, PASS isn't really affected by membership bookings. So if it makes sense, the membership model is mostly about Inspirato's private residences, while the PASS model is weighted toward hotels. PASS can be a great value, but you're not getting the full Inspirato experience, as obviously Inspirato doesn't control hotels....the residences are a completely different story. At the time of writing this, there are 689 properties available on PASS....295 of those are homes. Smaller families, couples without kids, or families with flexible work/school schedules tend to gravitate to PASS, as they don't need larger residences and/or aren't confined to school holiday travel windows.

If you want to read about a current PASS member's personal experience, you can check out his site: https://luxurypassreview.com/

The other thread has all kinds of detailed info in regards to specific pricing & personal experiences with the membership. Because of how great the values can be, we more than made up our initiation fee in less than a year. But in my experience as an ambassador, most people aren't joining Inpsirato's membership model for deals...but rather for the incredible services offered, as well as the certainty that no matter the destination or residence, the property is going to be stellar. Additionally, we've gotten tremendous benefit from partners. Inspirato and Wheels Up are premier partners, and because of our Inspirato membership, we were able to become full Wheels Up CORE members without having to pay Wheels Up's $17,500 initiation fee.

People joining PASS to tend to be more into the "deal" aspect. But this makes sense, as the whole premise of PASS is to travel as much as you can for flat monthly payment and no nightly rates. Whereas with membership, I know multiple executives who have a very limited travel window and they want to ensure the absolute best vacation week possible...that's where Inspirato's service & certainty comes in on the membership side. For me, Inspirato makes traveling with 5 kids a phenomenal experience with so many of the usual stresses removed (think pre-arrival grocery delivery, high-chairs/pack-n-plays set up in the rooms, activities/tour operators vetted, private chefs lined up, etc.)

In the midst of the pandemic, when the travel industry has obviously been taking a beating, Inspirato membership and passholders have grown every month since the start of Covid and Inspirato has added over 100 new properties to the portfolio this year in order to handle this rising demand.

Another item of note; the experiences are extraordinary. Everything from Inspirato-only Silversea cruises (the entire ship is Inspirato members, and the itinerary is custom...they call it "cruising for non-cruisers") to sporting events like the Masters. It's not just a ticket to the Masters. Inspirato overtakes multiple B&Bs (in 2021, it's Rosemary Inn and Lookaway Inn), bringing in their own high-end linens & bath amenities that we enjoy in Inspirato's operated residences, and creates a custom turnkey itinerary for its members....private transportation to/from Augusta National, member-only events, etc. This kind of stuff is really only available through the pay-as-you-go membership....although occasionally some less popular experiences show up on PASS.

Lastly, you're correct about nightly rates under the membership model...actually some JAUNT (discounted nights) deals can be even lower than $300/night...and there are properties which can be over $5k per night, especially during Christmas/New Years. But the average is about $1,000 to $1,500. It all depends on the type/size/location of the residence, as well as the time of year. If you register for website access, you should be able to view rates. I have a large family of 7, including 5 children...we are always using 3 or 4+ bedroom residences. We typically travel during spring break, summer or fall break, and our most frequent trips are residences in Maui (Montage or Fairmont), Cabo (Esperanza/Punta Ballena), Punta de Mita (Four Seasons), Grand Cayman (Ritz Carlton), and we typically pay between $1k and $2k per night....just as an example, we paid about $1,500/night for an Oceanfront 3BR at the Fairmont Kea Lani in June last year....Fairmont's exact same category was just under $4k/night for the same dates.

Anyway, that's some detail on membership-only vs PASS (which now also includes membership). Obviously Inspirato isn't for everyone...but PASS has opened the door to a new audience while preserving the core, pay-as-you-go, membership model.

When I first joined Inspirato, the deals were far more plentiful. It is great for people who don’t have kids and can travel anytime because the Jaunts can be very good deals. For those like me with families who need to plan in advance, the rates are just OK, but they do have good service. I don’t think many people actually pay the full initiation fee. PM me if you want join. It is very nice club for the most part.

Other than some of the original AMEX offers, nearly everyone paid the full initiation fee. As an Ambassador who has referred over 30 people to the club, I would have easily been able to refer double that number had they negotiated on initiation fees. Inspirato instead used free trips to help offset those costs, but hesitation from many people to give that big of an up front check was hindering growth. Hence they have completely changed the model from when you and I joined. There is no longer a sizable initiation fee plus annual dues, and there are no longer categories of membership (Flex, Family, Executive). The membership model is subscription-based just like PASS. So it’s $600/month (plus $600 due at signing) and then pay as you go, whereas PASS is $2,500/month with no further dues or nightly rates.

Those of us who have been around for a while still have our old set up (I’m still an Executive member, for example) and pay the annual dues (which equate to roughly $300/month) but no monthly subscription amount. So there is less up front commitment these days, but it costs more annually. The market seems to love the subscription model, as membership is back to growing really well again. Hence the 100+ new properties added this year.

Here’s a link detailing the changes: https://www.sherpareport.com/destina...scription.html

The pass seemed an interesting idea to me, IF it was really to dump last minute inventory that they believed would go unused, leading someone with a lot of flexibility to get outsized value (again, without a lot of cost to Inspirato, if they felt the inventory was going unused). However, it seems for pass at least, they manipulate (or perhaps "control) the inventory so that you are limited in the value you get close in, and they'll offer you more value the further out you book (which of course ties up your pass so costs you more money). Now I totally understand this for the hotel inventory, where they are probably paying some out of pocket cash cost if you stay there. But for the home inventory that in theory has minimal variable cost to them and is perishable, that to me should be available and not pulled off the market based on it being close in and thus them only tying up a small piece of you membership fee.

Now, for someone who was taking a monthly high end trip anyway, it could be useful, and I've read good things overall about the homes, but for a pure value play, not so much in my opinion.

This is a really good take. You're spot on...no one should join Inspirato purely as a value play. Are there amazing deals/values to be had? Absolutely, and I've experienced many of them. But the main reason people join is because of the quality of the residences, the personalized service and the certainty of how amazing each residence will be because of Inspirato's control over each property...plus access to Inspirato's exclusive experiences. At the end of the day, this is luxury discretionary; for non-Pass holders, the average nightly rate is still over $1,000, and the $2,500/month Pass membership is double the average American's mortgage. But without question, Inspirato has opened up this niche to more people than the original Exclusive Resorts model could (Inspirato has just over 18,000 members, ER has just over 4,000...and ER has been around for almost twice as many years).

I revisited this idea this morning after popping in every 6 months or so.

My wife and I seem like the perfect target for this - both of us now working remote, and pre-children. I so much wanted to pull the trigger. But after spending 30 minutes on the site this morning, I came away with a no. Here are my reasons:

• As I’m sure has been pointed out here, they push the high value rentals out in time. So if you use your pass to book a rental that starts in 3 months, you are really paying $7,500 for it for the 3 months of $2,500 payments with the inability to use your pass.
• Compared to prior times I’ve looked, stays seem extremely short. I looked for the entire month of January, and didn’t see any stays over 3-4 days. I used to see stays for 12-15 days (I think).
• Combining the duration of stays with the “back to back” rule of 7 days, it would be really hard to get value out of this. If I were to maximize this, I would start today (day 1) and would be allowed to book something 2 days away (day 3). Let’s say I could find four nights. So I could stay day 3 - day 7. I would not be allowed to check-in again until day 14. Then I could stay day 14-18, and then would be locked out until the 25th. Check in 25-29, then locked out for the remaining two days of the month. So in this “maximum use” scenario, I am prepaying $2,500 for 12 nights. And these appear to be very mediocre hotel rooms, not the flashy houses that must be booked months ahead.

I’d love to be talked into this, but from the actual inventory available I just don’t see a great value here

I think you're looking at it the right way...no need to talk you into it based on what you're looking for/how you would use it. As a follow up to my previous posts about why PASS was initially created and also not joining strictly as a value play, I'll add that Inspirato found many people simply hated the idea of nightly rates...even if they ended up paying the exact same amount through a subscription, people were more willing to do the subscription. Just like the initiation fees were a non-starter for many, nightly rates are a non-starter for others. So you're correct, they've done the math to value the trips in conjunction to how far out they are...the further out the trip is, the more "valuable" it is. That's not to say there aren't ways to take advantage of it, though.

But have you given thought to the club membership ($600/month, then pay nightly rates as you go) which gives you access to the entire portfolio of residences up to 365 days in advance and no restrictions on how many trips you can have at one time or when the next one begins? You also get to book what you want when you want it, instead of what Inspirato is offering/controlling through the PASS list. While you're paying nightly, you're saving a lot on the monthly membership, and the nightly rates are frequently at a significant discount. You still get the same great service of a dedicated team to help with vacation planning, pre-arrival grocery delivery, daily housekeeping, an on-site concierge, etc.

If you want, feel free to send me a PM. I'm more than willing to chat with you about the pros and cons, as well as my personal experience. My family and I have been members since 2014, and I've talked to a lot of prospective members over the years. I feel like I've got a pretty good idea of who would make the most out of Club or PASS, or who wouldn't be a good fit for Inspirato at all.

Thanks.

I guess fundamentally, it’s a little hard to buy into the idea that I should pay $600 per month in return for nothing but the privilege to be allowed to buy their service.

I don’t need mistake fare value, but I would like to feel like there is a solid value proposition.

I would likely be using the Jaunts and Jaunt 52s.

Have you felt that overall this has been a good value for you? Do you feel like the $1k-2k/nt jaunt rates are getting you a far superior product to what you’d get on Airbnb/onefinestay/etc.?

thanks

Absolutely, we have received incredible value, and I'm happy to provide specific examples. It's false that Jaunt/Jaunt 52 are the only values. I earlier commented how we paid about $1500/night (Inspirato's rack rate) for a 3-bedroom oceanfront villa at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui. The same villa category with the same exact dates was over $3,000/night directly through Fairmont. The Jaunt 52 rates for these residences are often under 1k per night. Here's an actual real-time example. Right now, Inspriato has their "Hoku" residence (the same 3BR Oceanfront Villa I mentioned at the Fairmont Kea Lani) on the Jaunt 52 list for $890/night October 10-16. That's discounted from their rack rate of $1,240. If you go to Fairmont's website and plug in those exact same dates, the same category villa is $3,029/night. So that's a $2,130/night savings, and it's on Inspirato's website, available for booking right now. Even at the regular $1,240/night rate for those dates, that's a $1,789/night discount!

We also stayed at a 4-bedroom 3,000+ sqft residence ("Starlet") in Grand Cayman in the Exclusive Resorts enclave across the street from the Ritz Carlton. We paid under $2,000/night when that nightly rate was roughly what Ritz Carlton was charging for a 1BR residence inside the resort tower...it was over 3k/night for a 3BR tower residence through Ritz Carlton....and the 4-BR Inspirato residence came with two 8-person golf carts that we used to drive over to the Ritz and park in the designated golf cart parking spots. We had full Ritz Carlton charging privileges and full access to all the pools and amenities just as if we were staying at the resort...except we had a huge 4-bedroom residence with its own pool...saving over $1,000/night compared to a smaller 3BR residence through Ritz.

At the Montage Kapalua, we paid about $1,200 for the full rack rate when Montage was charging just over $2,000/night for the same residence. Another real-time example for you; Inspirato has the "Snap Dragon" 3BR Montage Kaplalua residence on Jaunt 52 right now for $1,090 February 6 to 13, discounted from their rack rate of $1,820. In this case, Montage is charging $2,163 for the same category. So $1,073 less through Jaunt 52, but still $343 less when comparing rack rate to rack rate.

So to be fair, the 1-2k rates you mention are typically the average rack rates (not including the two weeks of Christmas & New Years)....the Jaunt/Jaunt 52 rates are usually lower than that. In fact, of the 120 Jaunt 52 trips being offered this week (December 30 to January 5, for actual travel dates between later this month and early December), 95 of them are between $390 and $1,290/night. So yes, we feel the value has been insanely good, and I mentioned in a previous post that we made up our initiation fee (i think it was 20k back when we joined in 2014) in only a couple of week-long trips in less than one year. If you're looking at resort residences, it's really easy to price shop Inspirato versus the resort directly. Even with Inspirato's rack rates, we have always realized a savings of at least $300/night with an Inspirato residence that we could compare to the resort directly, and most of the time we're realizing a discount closer to $700 to $1000/night. If you then factor Jaunt/Jaunt52, the discounts are even greater.

Assuming Covid restrictions have lifted we're planning to go to the Resort at Pelican Hill in July (24th to 31st). We are looking at a 3-Br oceanview villa ("Coastal Sage" on the Inspirato website) for $1,920/night (Inspirato's rack rate). The same dates through Pelican Hill directly are currently $3,123/night....a $1,203/night savings just with Inspirato's full price rates. So while we love the service and the consistency and all the extras (in non-Covid times, those of us in Denver get complimentary tickets to Inspirato's suite for Nuggets/Avalanche games as well as concerts....they do this in other cities too, but not a full season like here in Denver. Just usually one or two games a year in other large markets), the value proposition is amazing for us. Because of what i said about most people not joining mainly for value, I truly don't think most members even know how good the rates are. When I talk to fellow members at the suite during hockey/basketball games, they're often blown away when I take out my phone and show them what many of these properties cost through the resorts directly. And yes, Inspirato's nightly rates have increased over the years, but so too have the resorts' rates...so as demonstrated, the discounts are real. It just takes some time to comb through the website and compare residences to really appreciate how great the savings are, and I don't think most people take the time to do that (a lot of the people I talk to about membership are into Inspirato because they can literally turn over their entire vacation planning to a team....so of course that person isn't going to take the time to research rates like I'm doing here). Admittedly, it's much harder to do this exercise with standalone homes, as there isn't an apples to apples comparison through VRBO, AirBnb, etc. But resort residences are really easy to compare.

To us, Airbnb and Vrbo, etc aren't really comparisons since Inspirato has full control over their residences through exclusive long-term lease agreements...even many of the resort ones. On average, Inspirato makes $50k worth of investments in furniture, bedding, decor, etc before bringing a new property into the portfolio. Knowing how high quality the linens are, the mattresses, the fully stocked kitchens...that groceries will be delivered, that high chairs and pack-n-plays will be there, etc. That across the board consistency makes us much more likely to try a new destination, as we know the Inspirato residence and service will be incredible. So we're getting phenomenal values, consistent and high quality residences, plus Inspirato's highly personalized service. We feel the product is far superior while also realizing incredible value. It's been a win for our family.

Follow up to my post above with more real-time examples. I just picked some random dates in March for "Songbird" which is a 3-BR Inspirato Villa at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. Inspirato's full-price rate for March 6-13 is exactly $1,000 per night. The same villa category (3BR Resort Villa) through Terranea directly on March 6-13 is $1,980/night. So, about 1k/night savings without needing Jaunt.

Acqualina Resort in Sunny Isles, FL - March 13-20. Oceanfront 2BR residence - Inspirato's full price rate is $2,447/night and Acqualina's is $2,854...so about a $407/night discount in this case.

Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Coast CA - May 1-8. 4BR Villa ("Covecrest" on the Inspirato website) - Inspirato's full price rate is $1,700/night, the Jaunt 52 rate is $1,150/night. The rate through the Resort at Pelican Hill directly is currently $2,623/night. So a $923/night discount with the full Inspirato rate, and a $1,473/night discount for the current Jaunt 52 offering.

So the monetary value is there. Now, if you're only taking 1 Inspirato trip per year, it's probably not worth it from a purely dollar value standpoint...unless you just snag a massive discount like the Fairmont Kea Lani or Pelican Hill examples I've just given. But for those of us taking at least 2 and often 3-4+ trips per year, these discounts compound and easily make up and overtake the Club or Pass subscription (or dues, for us legacy members).

Wow! What awesome info, nddomer04! I am lucky enough to have a friend who has been a member for a long time, and she has invited our group of girlfriends on two different trips to Vail. One of them was to a 6-bedroom penthouse at Solaris, and the other was to one of their standalone homes up on Potato Patch Dr. Both experiences were nothing short of spectacular, and the service was over the top good. We also got to check out the Inspirato member lounge in Vail Village Such an awesome perk and a perfect spot for pre-dinner drinks!

My husband was hesitant to join because he didn't think we would use it enough to make up for the initiation fees previously. But between COVID and Inspirato's new subscription model, I think he is on board. We live down in the Springs, so I know we would get a ton of use out of driving trips to the mountains plus mixing in some other fun beach destinations here and there. I am going to send you a PM, and if you are ok with it, I would love to hear more about your experiences and maybe even get on the phone with us. It's so awesome to hear from actual members, and I'd love to just get one more perspective outside of my good friend...sometimes money questions are tricky with people you know well, if you know what I mean! Also still debating Pass versus Club...leaning toward Club to start. Totally wish he could have experienced what my friends and I have....the residences were spectacular and absolutely spotless. Knowing only other Inspirato members stay in those residences is a huge plus and clearly makes a different with how little wear and tear there was. And while minor in the grand scheme of things, I can still smell those Le Labo bath products!!! Must convince hubby.