Travel Subscriptions?

[ExFlyBoy5]

Anyone have any experience with something like this? Got an email from an outfit called "Inspirato Pass" that claims "endless travel for $2,500 a month with no nightly rates, taxes, or fees". A quick search hasn't come up with a lot of information, but it's somewhat intriguing. The Points Guy has an article, but curious if the members here have any insight.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/inspirato-travel-subscription/

With Inspirato Pass, you can book a nearly endless number of stays or trips (transportation and incidentals are not included) for a monthly subscription fee starting at $2,500, or $30,000 for a year. There are no nightly rates, taxes or pesky fees to contend with, whether you stay in a luxury villa, high-end hotel or resort, or take a cruise or safari. There are more than 60,000 trips available for Inspirato Pass members to choose from — the catalogue is updated daily — and you can book up to a year in advance. Inspirato also provides pre-trip planning and access to a vacation advisor.

Hotel and resort partners include brands like Mandarin Oriental; Marriott’s Ritz-Carlton and Edition properties; Four Seasons; and Waldorf Astoria, and other luxury independents. Cruises are from Silversea Cruises, while safaris are crafted by andBeyond.

 

[braumeister]

Interesting, but no thanks.
When I travel, I want to decide my own dates, locations, and accommodations.

Under their system, you seem to be limited to just the "trips" they offer, so you're traveling to their properties during their dates. And it looks like a lot of them are simply condos that are available elsewhere through various "vacation clubs" at a lower cost.

 

[OldShooter]

" ... a monthly subscription fee starting at $2,500, or $30,000 for a year." 6-month minimum membership & some places they also mention a $10,000 sign-up fee. Not clear if that applies or not.

Do you want to become an unsecured creditor of a company that apparently came into existence in July of 2019?

 

[Souschef]

The other catch is it does not include airfare, or "incidentals, like meals.
For $ 30,000 a year we can do a lot of traveling on our own.

 

[njhowie]

The problem I see with the model and for the subscriber is that it appears there is no fixed inventory - it's what they want to make available on any particular date and you are competing with all other subscribers for the limited inventory at the time. Because you can only book one reservations at a time (or two or three for higher monthly fees), it's questionable what kind of frequency you could actually get at the lowest subscription price. I'm assuming that when you pick a resort/hotel location for a particular date, it's going to give you a maximum number of days you can stay there - otherwise what stops you from deciding to stay there for the entire year?

So, suppose you go stay somewhere for a week. You check out and then look for another place to go - will anything be available in the next few days? And planning last minute travel to the next place is going to be expensive as well. You'd have no idea where you're going until you make/confirm the reservation.

If I were seriously thinking about something like this, I'd consider picking up a few timeshares that owners are looking to get out of. There is lots available for $500 or less as there are hoards of folks just looking to walk away from their timeshares. $30,000 a year gives you lots of room when it comes to the annual maintenance/dues/taxes. Pick up 12 cheap timeshare contracts, as long as they each come in under $2500/year (which would be extremely high), you'd likely make out better - having a guaranteed place to go all the time and more flexibility when it comes to making the reservation.

 

[njhowie]

" ... a monthly subscription fee starting at $2,500, or $30,000 for a year." 6-month minimum membership & some places they also mention a $10,000 sign-up fee. Not clear if that applies or not.

Do you want to become an unsecured creditor of a company that apparently came into existence in July of 2019?

You'd be an unsecured creditor insofar as the amount you've paid in advance - likely one month of fees (or 6 months if they require payment of the first 6 months in advance).

I did roam around the site a little. They do have trips for as long as 56 nights. However, here's how they get you - in general, the longer the trip, the further out the dates are. So, if you have the cheap $2500/month subscription which entitles you to one reservation at a time, to get something for 30 to 56 nights, you have to reserve 6 to 12 months in advance. For the cruises and other experiences, 2 weeks to several months in advance. In the mean time, you cannot use it, unless you get one of the more expensive monthly options to give you 2 or 3 reservations at a time.

The soonest you could make a new reservation for is one week in advance. The site shows lots available beginning one week from now for shorter 2 to 7 night trips.

So, basically you can take a trip, and then there's a required minimum one week gap until the next trip assuming you make the next reservation immediately at the end of each trip.

Bottom line, as in the case of many "unlimited" type subscription programs, they do build limits in to it.

 

[DrRoy]

A lot of our travel is to off the beaten path locations that would not be covered by something like this, so I would pass.

 

[sengsational]

Sounds like getting yourself to the place would eat you alive, cost-wise. If you "don't care where you go", do what Clark Howard recommends: find a deal irrespective of where, and just go. IOW don't pick a place first, just go where the deals are. And it's the total price of the trip, including (especially) getting there.

 

[njhowie]

If you "don't care where you go", do what Clark Howard recommends: find a deal irrespective of where, and just go. IOW don't pick a place first, just go where the deals are. And it's the total price of the trip, including (especially) getting there.

+1

 

[SumDay]

Sounds like a timeshare-ish type of a scheme to me. We finally got rid of those, so I don't want to get back into that type of a system.