nddomer04

Great chatting with you and your husband this evening! He sure sounds ready to join, and based on how you two want to travel, I feel quite confident saying you will love Inspirato. Be sure to let us know what you officially decide, and if you do join, please post info about any trips you book. A while back, I used to post in the "Trip Reports" forum and link to that from the old Inspirato thread.

A couple of other items to note; 1) the members-only Facebook group is getting a lot of chatter about Cabo right now, and that is one of the most popular member destinations. I just checked the PASS list, and sure enough, there are multiple 4-night trips to Inspirato's 4-bedroom Auberge Private Residences at Esperanza. The trip values are about $10,950, so for a trip just over a month away, that's well ahead of the $2,500/month PASS pace. There are a bunch of other residences in the $6k value range for 3 night trips, and then there are lots of Montage 1BR hotel rooms available for 7 night stays in February. Here is the direct link: Pass Trip Results | Inspirato

2) If anyone is interested to hear a relatively recent overview of the club from one of the founders (Brad Handler), check out the below link. Brad goes over how he and his brother (Brent) created Exclusive Resorts, which eventually led to them launching Inspirato in 2011. He goes into the long-term leasing model and how they can offer these discounted rates, in addition to all they do to onboard a residence and all the investments they make, as well as the differences between Club and Pass. The interview starts at about 1:55 in, and the first 15 minutes are really the most pertinent, although there are other details later on as well. Since this interview was conducted, the membership model is now also subscription based as has been detailed previously:

Valveking

Let's be realistic. 4 nights at the Inspirato places at Auberge private Residences are not really worth 11k. They are nice places for sure and I love the new interiors. I have stayed at them several times. Maybe $1200 a night is what they go for in January.

nddomer04

Totally agree about the renovations...we were the last people inside Casa Gardenias before the remodels. But this is an actual screen shot from my booking page as a member. $1,940/night for a total of $13,580 for the week. The PASS trips I referenced have subsequently been booked since last night, but they were 4 night trips...higher nightly rate, but the subtotal was $11,000...PASS showed an estimated value of $10,950. The Esperanza rack rate for a 3-bedroom Garden Villa on those exact same dates is currently $2,465/night. To be fair, they are running some promotions (stay 7 nights and pay 5) which brings to the nightly rate down to $1,921/night which is basically a wash with Inspirato's rack rate.


And here is the screenshot from Esperanza (with tax, Inspirato comes up to a total of just over $16k...but with Esperanza, you have both the tax and service charge, which brings their total up to just over $18k):




I know I've talked multiple times about the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui, but Inspirato's deal is just too good not to show. Here's an Inspirato full price week in June:



And here is that same week (June 12-19) and same villa category, directly through Fairmont:



$1,770/night through Inspirato....$3,286/night through Fairmont. And if you're flexible and can wait for a Jaunt52, that $1,770 would likely be anywhere from $890 to $1,290 depending on the time of year.

Valveking

Inspirato has massively higher rates when you don't book a weekend/weekend trip, so I think your example shows their rates at the absolute highest. When booking directly with Esperanza, you get all sorts of other benefits especially if using a Virtuoso agent, so not totally apples to apples.

nddomer04

(EDIT: I just realized that I've been comparing a 4BR Inspirato residence at Esperanza to only a 3BR residence directly through Esperanza. So, actually, Esperanza is basically $4k per night with a grand total of $16,039.80 for the Monday-Friday example I laid out below).

You're totally correct about Inspirato's membership rates being best when a trip begins/ends on a Saturday/Sunday (at least with Inspirato-controlled residences). And I'm happy to show when Inspirato isn't a great deal. In this case, I changed the dates to Monday-Friday, and as you said, Inspirato's nightly rates went up significantly. Esperanza's promos weren't as good either, but they still have a 4th night free deal. With this example, Inspirato is slightly higher than Esperanza directly, so this wouldn't be a good deal for a Club member like you or me.

However, my original comment about Cabo was referring to great Pass availability in February for 4-night stays at the 4BR residences, and then you commented that the value should be about $1,200/night and nowhere near Inspirato's claim that the trip was worth $10,950. Well those same dates through Esperanza are $10,813.80. It's no big deal...frankly, I was shocked too. When I stayed at the "Casa Gardenias" residence in October 2018, I paid less than $700/night...so these prices seemed way off. Sure enough, I just checked a week in October, and Inspirato's full price rate is currently $660/night...right where it was was previously. Maybe there's something to all the buzz about Cabo right now, as Esperanza seems to have jacked their rates up...and the Inspirato booking calendar is now nearly full for those residences over the next 60 days. But that's why those trips got scooped up pretty quickly last night...while they wouldn't have been a good deal for Club member, they were a phenomenal value for a Passholder doing a booking only 5 weeks in advance.


Inspirato:


Esperanza direct:





After realizing my mistake, here are the same 4 nights with a 4BR residence when trying to book directly through the Esperanza website...this includes their 4th night free promo. So Inspirato Club membership is actually still a better deal, even with Inspirato's significantly higher rates for not including weekends in the stay.

COskiGirl1985

We did it! My husband and I officially joined as Club members. We strongly considered Pass, especially with our kids doing remote learning. But hopefully we’ll be back in school sooner than later, and unfortunately that travel flexibility will then disappear. But I must say, I’m blown away with how good these rates can be, especially when factoring in the phenomenal level of service. And yes, nddomer04 was great in explaining to us how to maximize the savings for Club by playing with the dates to at least begin or end on a weekend. I can totally see how Pass would be more of interest to someone with lots of flexibility, interested in shorter stays and smaller properties, and can arrive/depart midweek. That’s just not us right now. But someday it will be!

We immediately snagged a spring break trip to Vail. I’m finally getting to take my husband and kids to Solaris. We scored a 4 bedroom unit for just over $1,150 per night. Just for kicks, we checked Solaris’ website as it looks like they still manage some Of their own units. They have the same sized 4 bedroom unit for $2,975/night. So we’ll pay just over 9k including tax while Solaris wants nearly $22k including tax for the same type accommodation on the same week...not even including Inspirato’s service aspect! So a 13 grand savings in one week for our first trip, and we didn’t even need Jaunt to accomplish that.

Many thanks to all of you for your input. Will definitely report back after this trip and also when we book another trip...and if we upgrade to Pass at some point! Happy travels everyone....those of us even discussing this seriously are in a very fortunate position in life especially considering all that is going on in our world.

offerendum

This fees and taxes

nddomer04

Yes that is correct. On the $11,000 subtotal, Inspirato's taxes and fees added about $2,000 for a total of $13,000. So, in that particular example, even a non-weekend/weekend stay is $3,000 less over a 4 night trip with Inspirato. Those dates are now booked through Inspirato, so the next available 4-night mid-week stay was March 22 to 26. I took it one step further so the Inspirato confirmation page w/ taxes and fees is displayed. Inspirato's taxes/fees are about one third of what Esperanza charges.

Inspirato:


Esperanza's website w/ 4th Night Free promo:

Valveking

One difference here is that when booking through Esperanza you get to use all of their pools. When booking though Inspirato, you are not allowed to use the Esperanza pools including the oceanfront tiered adult pools. With Inspirato, you do get to use the beach club which is nice and has great views.

trey30333

nddomer- include Inspirato's monthly fees when you their quote rates

nddomer04

Sorry, I thought that was clear as it has been well established that Club is $600/month and Pass is $2500/month (then no nightly rates). So it's pretty easy to do the math, and then the only variable would be how many trips one could take in a given year. PASS works best when traveling frequently.

COSkiGirl posted that she's paying $9k at Solaris in Vail when Solaris wants $22k for the same week...that's a $13k value with Inspirato when Club membership is $7,200/year. In one trip, she's already $5,800 ahead after dues. And that is completely consistent with my experience at Solaris in over 20 trips to that property since joining Inspirato in 2014. I also posted screenshots of the Fairmont Kea Lani wanting over $26k for the same 3BR villa that I can get through my Inspirato membership for $12.5k (about $14k with tax). So a $12k savings in one week (minus the $7,200 in dues), meaning 5 grand ahead after one trip. And my family takes multiple trips per year.

My Esperanza examples started because it was listed on PASS as an $11k trip value just over a month into the future when the PASS membership is $2,500/month. So the whole premise was about that trip far outpacing the PASS dues. That was from my post on January 4.

We ended up booking that Pelican Hill 3BR villa that was mentioned in my post on January 3. We saved $1,203/night compared to Pelican Hill's rates directly, so $8,421 in value...minus the $7,200 in dues, and we've already surpassed the annualized monthly dues in one week.

On the Official Inspirato Member Travel Group on Facebook, a PASS member recently posted a spreadsheet about how she realized over $60k in NET value through PASS and Jaunt deals during a 7-month period from August '19 to March '20. It led to multiple members commenting about how they have also realized significant value. But as I've also discussed previously, others then jumped in and said that the intangibles provide additional value that's hard to quantify; the level of service, the certainty and peace of mind that every trip is going to be phenomenal, and the time savings from not having to do hours and hours of research because you have a dedicated team of Inspirato specialists who get to know your family and will plan as much of the trip as you want them to.

busy

Could anyone advise what there preferred rates are at hotels like Parrot Cay and if they have access to villas?

nddomer04

Hi there, the preferred rates will all depend on the dates, so it's not like there's a flat discount. It doesn't look like Inspirato has any of the villas. I am seeing an ocean room, a suite, and then two beach houses (a 1BR and a 2BR): COMO Parrot Cay | Luxury Resort in the Caribbean | Turks & Caicos (inspirato.com) I just tried a bunch of random dates, and for March, Inspirato's rates were nearly identical to Parrot Cay's website directly, so pretty much a wash...negligible Inspirato value. In June (6/12 - 6/19), I'm seeing the 2BR beach house to be about $400/night less than Parrot Cay's best promo rate (about $2,700/night versus $3,100/night). So that's a $2,800 savings on the nightly rate. Inspirato's taxes and fees are also a bit less, so the all-in for Inspirato is $24,282 compared with $27,798 with Parrot Cay's "Stay 7 Nights Pay 5" promo. For most June dates, I'm seeing the Ocean Facing Room to be about $100 less per night with Inspirato (about $720/night versus $820/night). So it's less w/ Inspirato, but not as much of a savings as I'm used to seeing elsewhere. This makes sense, though, as Inspirato doesn't exclusively lease these properties...rather, it's a hotel/resort partner...and that's more of a value-add to membership versus a main driver (at least in my opinion). Hope this helps!

busy

Absolutely thanks... They have some homes on Parrot Cay for rent, but was sort of toying with the idea of going.

Valveking

90% of the time you are better off using a good Virtuoso agent than booking with their hotel partners. Join for the houses, not the hotels.