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-   -   Inspirato Pass Program (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels-travel/1977862-inspirato-pass-program.html)

1K Man Jul 12, 2019 2:51 pm

Inspirato Pass Program
 
I'm looking for information and reviews for the Inspirato Pass Program. I received an offer for this program and apparently this offer is currently (July 2019) only available to residents of Colorado or northern California.

From my research and looking at their website, the Inspirato Pass Program is quite different than the Inspirato Memberships (Key, Family, Executive). With Pass Program, you pay a monthly fee of $2,500 and all of the properties you book are free (no nightly rate, no taxes, no fees according to their website). The number of nights for a specific vacation home or hotel is fixed, some are 2 nights, some 5, some 7 nights, etc. You get to browse what is available and you can just book it. My first browse through showed some pretty impressive properties, and also some really good hotel suites. But here's the catch... you can only have 1 active reservation at a time. So if you book something 3 months out, you are paying 3 months of dues ($2,500 x 3 = $7,500) during that period where you cannot stay at other Inspirato properties. That may or may not be a good deal depending on the property or the length of time you book ahead. If you wait until the last minute (say you book something every month) then you could really maximize your subscription, but only if there are actual properties available last minute.

So my questions are:
1- is my understanding of this Inspirato Pass program correct?
2- does anyone have experience with it? If so, are the property/hotel options offered good/bad/scarce?
3- if you wait until the last minute (say 3-4 weeks ahead), is there still good availability?
4- is it good value?

Thanks!

nddomer04 Jul 12, 2019 11:04 pm


Originally Posted by 1K Man (Post 31297562)
I'm looking for information and reviews for the Inspirato Pass Program. I received an offer for this program and apparently this offer is currently (July 2019) only available to residents of Colorado or northern California.

From my research and looking at their website, the Inspirato Pass Program is quite different than the Inspirato Memberships (Key, Family, Executive). With Pass Program, you pay a monthly fee of $2,500 and all of the properties you book are free (no nightly rate, no taxes, no fees according to their website). The number of nights for a specific vacation home or hotel is fixed, some are 2 nights, some 5, some 7 nights, etc. You get to browse what is available and you can just book it. My first browse through showed some pretty impressive properties, and also some really good hotel suites. But here's the catch... you can only have 1 active reservation at a time. So if you book something 3 months out, you are paying 3 months of dues ($2,500 x 3 = $7,500) during that period where you cannot stay at other Inspirato properties. That may or may not be a good deal depending on the property or the length of time you book ahead. If you wait until the last minute (say you book something every month) then you could really maximize your subscription, but only if there are actual properties available last minute.

So my questions are:
1- is my understanding of this Inspirato Pass program correct?
2- does anyone have experience with it? If so, are the property/hotel options offered good/bad/scarce?
3- if you wait until the last minute (say 3-4 weeks ahead), is there still good availability?
4- is it good value?

Thanks!

Hi there! I've been a member of Inspirato since 2014 (Executive Level), so I'm happy to help answer your questions. Your understanding of the new Pass program is correct. It's very new, so I'm not sure how many people are going to be able to speak to personal experience. I do know that sales of the new Pass program have exceeded Inspirato's expectations within the trial markets. My family frequently books Inspirato trips up to a year out, and we currently have 4 Inspirato trips on the books over the next 12 months. So, for us, this just didn't make sense. We have 4 school-aged kids, and we do a lot of advance planning. And we really like to pick our own specific dates. That said, I could totally see this program working well for people who only tend to book their travel within a few months of the trip...maybe up to 6 months prior. That way you still have plenty of time to book at least 1 or 2 other trips before the 12 month period expires. Availability with Inspirato continues to be very good...more and more properties are being added every month, and we've never had any issues booking a desired location, even close in.

nddomer04 Jul 15, 2019 9:52 pm

As of today, Inspirato's new Pass program is available nationwide. Look, Book, Stay, Repeat With Inspirato Pass, The World's First Luxury Travel Subscription

SanDiego1K Jul 18, 2019 12:19 pm

It looks as though you've already gotten some great input. Still, I'm going to move this query along to the Luxury Hotel forum where the Inspirato program gets discussed.

Carol/SanDiego1K
Community Director

FlyingRobot Jul 22, 2019 12:25 am

Some of the experiences are valued well over the annual cost ($2500 * 12mo), and if you try to book them 2-3mo out, this seems well worth it. I'm curious how much the monthly dues will increase annually.

nddomer04 Jul 22, 2019 2:09 pm


Originally Posted by FlyingRobot (Post 31328491)
Some of the experiences are valued well over the annual cost ($2500 * 12mo), and if you try to book them 2-3mo out, this seems well worth it. I'm curious how much the monthly dues will increase annually.

The dues have been increasing by exactly $100 each year. They seem committed to keeping that pace as we move forward.

EDIT: I just realized I'm speaking in terms of the annual dues for members (currently $3,600, expected to be $3,700 next year). Yes, you bring up a good question...I haven't heard what the planned increase for PASS is expected to be.

Amanda Jeremy von Heidl Jul 28, 2019 10:44 am

Inspirato Pass
 
We’ve had the pass for a couple months and really enjoy it. We haven’t booked a hotel with it yet, but I think I’ve figured out the hotel algorithm. Basically, the amount of time you are tying up your pass ends up being very close to the hotels value. For example, if I book a hotel 7 days out for 2 nights, my pass would be tied up 7 days + 2 days + 7 days from checkout. So about 50% of my pass for the month or $1250 would be the approximate value of the hotel. If I book further out the room choices get much better and more expensive.

As for the homes, we’ve been impressed. You can tell the availability isn’t quite what it used to be as new members sign up and take close in inventory BUT it’s still very good. We’ve enjoyed it so much that we upgraded to the 2 pass option.

Im told we can expect a 3% increase each year, but I’ve already seen pass prices change from $2500 for 1, $5000 for 2 with sharing privileges, to $2500 and $6000 to $2500 + $500 and $5000 + $1000. What I assume is that prices will continue to go up as more members join.. so join soon : ) They’ve changed the cancellation policy to 30 days notice after 5 or 6 months which is great.

I’ve watched inspirato from the sidelines as friends and colleagues had the executive membership and enjoyed the few trips we took with them. I’ve watched the company grow and have been impressed with their ability to stay ahead of demand.

5 Stars for sure!

MSPeconomist Jul 28, 2019 10:59 am

I don't think they're all that exclusive: I just saw an ad for Inspirato on cable TV, although I don't remember the channel.

callmedtop Jul 28, 2019 11:08 am


Originally Posted by MSPeconomist (Post 31351344)
I don't think they're all that exclusive: I just saw an ad for Inspirato on cable TV, although I don't remember the channel.

CNN aired a commercial for Inspirato Pass this morning.

nddomer04 Aug 6, 2019 12:35 pm

I'm not sure that I would equate TV advertising with lack of exclusivity. Using that analogy, Wheels Up is not exclusive since they advertise like crazy on ESPN during college football season...especially College GameDay. And I'd consider Wheels Up highly exclusive. If Augusta National is the definition of exclusive, then sure, Inspirato isn't exclusive. But Inspirato members typically have a $5M to $10M net worth and the average residence is valued at about $5M. With Pass, we're talking about a minimum of $2,500/month which is more than double the average American's mortgage payment. For members who paid initiation fees and then pay as they go, average nightly rates are in the $1,200 to $1,500 rage with higher numbers during peak travel. And Inspirato's residence portfolio is 100% exclusive; it's only available to members and Passholders. This isn't Airbnb here, but certainly different people can have varied definitions of what they consider exclusive. But I'd consider a club that's targeting the top 2-3% of society pretty exclusive.

globetrotter949 Aug 6, 2019 2:58 pm

Helpful link:
https://thepointsguy.com/news/inspir...-subscription/

nddomer04 Aug 7, 2019 11:32 am

And here's a piece from Denver's 5280 Magazine: Denver’s Inspirato Just Launched the ClassPass of Luxury Lodging

1K Man Aug 7, 2019 12:43 pm

I'm the OP. Thanks everyone for the great information.

I'm strongly considering subscribing to the PASS. But one thing that bothers me (regarding hotels, not homes) the most and preventing me from jumping in....

Many of the stays are too short. For example, I'm heading to Vancouver in early Sept, and the only inventory I can see are all 2 nights at the Rosewood Georgia (great hotel), but I plan to stay 4 nights. So naturally, I would want to take advantage of my PASS, but that would mean checking out (or extending or changing rooms) after two days. Even if we extend, it's likely that the suite we'd be in has a rack rate of $1.5k per night for two extra nights, so it kind of defeats the purpose of the PASS to have to pay 2 extra nights, because I could probably book a lesser room for 4 nights for less than the cost of the PASS + 2 extra nights in a suite. And I can't think of anything more annoying in breaking up a getaway weekend than having to checkout. And I imagine this will be the case for almost all getaway weekends. You can only partially take advantage of the PASS, and then still have significant out-of-pocket.

I did a similar search for London UK for November (and again Rosewood London showed up, great hotel, stayed there many times) and again it was for 5 nights, instead of the 7 that I'm looking for. Same scenario as above. I'd have to extend a couple nights at ~$2.5k per night.

So I'm thinking two things:
1- When Inspirato negotiates these room rates, the hotels expect that the client will often extend a night or two at full rack rate. It's probably part of the strategy.
2- Inspirato reduces the number of nights available the closer you are to the arrival date... 5 nights if booking 3 months out, 3-4 nights 2 months out, 2 nights 1 month out. This would make sense since they don't want to lose money, they won't leave a 5 night inventory option with just 1 month left, I seriously doubt it. So that means that all "last minute" getaways will typically be 2 or 3 nights max, with no option but to extend.

So bottom line, the true cost comparison for PASS is that you have to factor extended nights, and compare that to booking a "lesser room" without PASS. Granted you may not get the fancy suite, but you are still staying in the same hotel without any of the planning commitments needed with PASS.

Just my thoughts. I would welcome feedback from people actually using PASS.

Valveking Aug 7, 2019 1:39 pm

As an Inspirato member, I can only see this Pass deal working for someone is if they are empty nesters and semi retired with the ability to just pack up and go at anytime. I would just like it if Inspirato would stop raising their nightly rates on their properties so precipitously. The club's value proposition has been declining for years. Most of the time, I can easily find cheaper rates at the same properties just doing 5 minutes of internet searching. That is not even factoring in the yearly dues. They do put on great trips. That is for sure.

ABG Aug 7, 2019 7:30 pm


Originally Posted by 1K Man (Post 31390684)
so it kind of defeats the purpose of the PASS to have to pay 2 extra nights, because I could probably book a lesser room for 4 nights for less than the cost of the PASS + 2 extra nights in a suite. .

In the case of Rosewood Georgia they are 4th night free over most of September with the various perks ontop..... the math for that stay makes little sense under that program. I'd say same would probably be true for Rosewood London.

but alas, this is just one more tool in the tool-box of global travelers.


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