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[Short answer…Yes! And we continue to LOVE Inspirato Pass. Value is amazing. Service is unrivaled. Surprises keep coming.]
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been vacationing with Inspirato Pass for almost two years now! What a long, strange trip (actually, a whole lot of trips!) it has been after signing up for Inspirato Pass just a few months before a historic global pandemic shut the world down for a season. Even with that being the case, we could not be more thankful that we pulled the trigger on Inspirato Pass back in November of 2019.
I had one purpose when I signed our family up for Inspirato Pass. That purpose being to travel as much as possible together as a family for the final year and a half that my oldest daughter was going to still be living at home with us prior to leaving for college. Well, that year and a half has now come and gone. We moved her into her college dorm at Baylor University a bit over a month ago. So, how’d we do? Were we able to get value out of Inspirato Pass during COVID? Now that our oldest has moved on to college, how will we use Inspirato Pass? Will it still make sense for our family? Will the value still be there for us? Let’s dig in and see!
First off, let’s reflect on how we’ve done these last couple of years? Considering that we only had about three months of Inspirato Pass before COVID hit, we did remarkably well and enjoyed some of the best family vacations of our lives! Not only did we have beautiful family times, but due to Inspirato residences being so large and spacious, we were able to share many trips with extended family and dear friends. Below is a summary of exactly how we’ve used Inspirato Pass these last two years:
- January 2020 – 4-night ski trip to Deer Valley, Crescent unit at Stein Eriksen Residences
- February 2020 – 7-nights at Pelican Hill Resort – Lotus villa
- March-June – Inspirato Pass on pause due to COVID
- August 2020 – 7-night stay in Los Cabos – Casa Ola
- August 2020 – utilized our guest pass to host family friends for four nights at Pelican Hill – Tide Pool villa
- October 2020 – 5-night stay in Aspen – Buckhorn residence
- October 2020 – 3-night stay at Pelican Hill Resort – Lotus villa
- November 2020 – 4-night stay in Scottsdale – O’Meara residence at The Rocks
- January 2021 – 4-night stay in Deer Valley – Ski Haven residence at Stein Eriksen Residences
- April 2021 – 5-night stay at Pelican Hill – Turtle Rock Villa
- June 2021 – 7-night stay at Pelican Hlll – Family/Friend reunion trip w multiple villas (Pass, Jaunt, Bonus trips)
- August 2021 – 7-night stay at Pelican Hill – Saltgrass villa
- August 2021 – 2-night stay in Dallas – Westin Galleria Hotel
- September 2021 – Utilized Beyond Travel for a Tumi luggage set
- November 2021 – 11-night stay at Pelican Hill – Sea Greens (upcoming)
Wow! We’ve done a lot! And can you tell how much we love Pelican Hill Resort?! Going forward, with the world opening up more and more, we’ll likely be staying there a bit less as we’ll finally be able to travel more freely both domestically and internationally. But, I know we’ll still hit Pelican every few months as it’s becoming our home away from home (Thanks Shelley!).
And how about the value we’ve achieved with Inspirato Pass? With COVID cancellations in 2020, the pause for a few months with Pass, and with taking advantage of some Inspirato promotions, it’s a bit tough to nail down the exact value of all of these trips. However, a simple analysis is as follows:
- 21 months of Inspirato Pass (24 less the three months on COVID pause) has a retail cost of $52,500
- Estimated value of above trips – $130,000!
- Achieving the equivalent of more than a 60% discount against retail cost
That’s some big time value. And it’s precisely the reason that we plan to keep on keepin’ on with Inspirato Pass for the foreseeable future. With a daughter going to school in Texas, our year now includes a few trips back and forth to Waco. And when she’s home for longer holidays, she generally wants to enjoy time at home with family and friends. So, our travel habits have changed dramatically. I never would have imagined that I’d be traveling to Waco, TX every few months. But alas, that’s where we find ourselves, and we’re loving it, even though it’s a huge adjustment for us all. We now just need Inspirato to team up with Chip and Joanna Gaines and add a home or two in Waco. Would you believe that Magnolia Farms is the most visited tourist destination in all of Texas? But, I digress…
How can our family continue to get value out of Inspirato Pass with all of these changes? I’ve obviously become somewhat of an expert on how Pass works and the best ways to utilize it to achieve great value (easy for anyone to do!). I continue to think and dream of all the destinations we can hit in the future with Inspirato Pass, and perusing the trip list continues to be one of my favorite pastimes. Become an Inspirato Pass member and you’ll quickly understand what I’m talking about. That trip list is addictive!
How’s our next year of travel with Inspirato looking? Right now, it’s looking pretty awesome. We’ll be getting creative and hoping that COVID travel restrictions will soon become a thing of the past. Here’s what we’ve got in the works for the next 12 months or so (of course subject to change). We still have one big trip planned this year in November to Pelican Hill before we settle in at home for the holidays (an 11 night stay – a $25,000+ value that cost us only $5,000 of Pass dues – where my wife and I will be hosting some of our dearest lifelong friends who now live out of country – can’t wait!). Then, launching into 2022 looks like this:
- January – This will be a repeat of my very first trip with Inspirato. My youngest daughter and I, along with another dad and daughter, will once again hit the slopes of Deer Valley for a early/mid January ski trip. The Montage Deer Valley was not part of the Inspirato portfolio the last two ski seasons, so that’s a tempting new offering. I couldn’t be happier wondering if we’ll stay at the Montage this time around or do a third trip to Stein Eriksen Residences. I’m not overly concerned about having to decide between the two most luxurious, tasteful, and convenient destinations in all of Deer Valley.
- February or March – Montage Healdsburg, just my wife and I for a few days. We taken some rain checks on anniversary trips during COVID, so it’s time to go big. I’ve been dying to visit the Montage in Healdsburg ever since it was added to the Inspirato portfolio. It looks fabulous. We’re overdue for a trip that’s just the two of us. 🙂
- March/April – Family Trip to NYC at Inspirato SOHO. We’re currently figuring out the target dates for this trip, but it’s looking like we’ll be able to swing four or five nights. Our family of four has never all been in NYC at the same time, so we’re super excited about this one! And Inspirato SOHO looks incredible!
- May – Birthday golf/fishing trip with the guys to Los Cabos. With the number of guys going on this trip, we’ll likely/hopefully end up getting one of the larger residences for a few days. I sure wouldn’t mind getting back to Casa Ola once again!
- June – This is a big one. We’ll use our Inspirato Pass reservation, probably one Club reservation, and hopefully we can get a Jaunt reservation in there as well for this trip (join Inspirato and you’ll find out all about Jaunt deals). Our large group of families that did a trip together last June at Pelican Hill decided that the trip was so amazing that we want to make it an annual tradition. This coming June it will be Costa Rica! We’ll be flexible as Inspirato has a number of large residences in Costa Rica, but the newest homes in Costa Elena look perfect for our group of 23! Keeping our fingers crossed.
- August – Europe! Yes, it may be a bit warm (targeting late July or early August), but it’s the only time we can swing a family trip to Europe that has been on hold since being cancelled two spring breaks in a row due to COVID. We’ll probably hit a few spots and will most likely use our Inspirato Pass reservation for London or Tuscany…maybe Paris. We shall see!
- October – We’ll be oh so ready to get back down for some time at Pelican Hill. Over a year will have passed since our last visit (unless we grab a Bonus Trip which is highly likely), and that’s a long time for us to not spend a few days at our very favorite place. We plan to invite family from Seattle down to enjoy this trip with us.
- November – Family trip to Scottsdale for the Ironman Arizona event in which I’ll be participating (Lord willing!) This will be my second full Ironman as I did this Arizona event back in 2019 as well. We’ll stay at The Rocks for a few days and make a family trip out of it. I’ll make sure we have a few days included after the event so I can actually enjoy the rest! Maybe we’ll even extend it through Thanksgiving so I don’t have to move much for a few days after Ironman.
What a year of travel we have in store! Time do dust off those passports as we’re looking at three international trips in 2022. Based on two years of experience, the above trips are all very doable. Inspirato inventory not only remains solid, but continues to grow on almost a weekly basis. It’s crazy to look back a couple of years and consider how the portfolio has grown by leaps and bounds. So encouraging as we look forward to what’s to come!
Now, it’s clear that Inspirato Pass is an incredible value. It’s clear that you can travel to the finest destinations in the US and the world with Inspirato. But, let’s not forget the unrivaled and incomparable service that is part and parcel of being an Inspirato Pass member. When we signed up for Pass, I frankly was not too concerned about this aspect of travel. I was focused on value and the quality of the Inspirato portfolio. Sure, I assumed that the service would be fine. I did not, however, assume that it would be (as we have found it to be time and time again) over-the-top excellent. If you’re considering Inspirato Pass, don’t neglect this component of the overall value proposition.
I would still consider myself a low-maintenance traveler, but I’m sure getting used to Inspirato’s level of care. If I’m honest, it is having an impact on me. Just last week we stayed at a VRBO in Waco, TX while at Baylor for family weekend. It was a great place. It had been showcased on Fixer Upper Season Something, Episode Something Another (true story). However, I found myself having many questions that I wanted to ask our non-existent concierge about restaurants, things to do, etc. We hosted friends for dinner one of the evenings and the kitchen and its included pots, pans, and appliances left much to be desired. I think it was when I was overly saddened to see a Keurig machine rather than a Nespresso machine, I realized that perhaps I’ve strayed from being the low-maintenance traveler I thought I was. But come on, how great is it to have Nespresso at all Inspirato residences! And thank goodness I brought my little Bose speaker along with me because there definitely was no Sonos in this home! Alright, dang it, I guess I have officially transformed into somewhat of a high-maintenance traveler.
I don’t know how to equate value with the way Inspirato cares for its members. I know it’s business. I know it’s their job. But, in our interactions will all Inspirato team members thus far, it’s been genuine and authentic…and we love it!
After two years of Inspirato Pass, our family could not be happier. Every single one of our expectations has been exceeded. We’ve stayed in so many beautiful Inspirato residences these last two years. And above all of that, our family has been blessed with times together that otherwise would have never happened. We traveled more together. We shared more meals together. We have been blessed with a depth of experiences traveling with Inspirato that goes beyond blog posts and pretty pictures. And for that, we’re abundantly grateful.
Oh, and just one last thing…Inspirato continues to surprise! Their team keeps finding ways to make Pass better and more valuable to members. Just today, we received an email about Inspirato’s new suite at Staples Center that will be available for members. As Orange County residents, this is HUGE for us. I’ll be doing whatever I can to wrangle a few of those suite seats for the Lakers’ home opener against the Warriors! What an incredible added benefit. The email also mentions that they’ll be adding options like this in different markets in the coming months. This is a big deal and just another taste what’s in store for us members in the coming months and years. Bravo Inspirato!
If you are not yet a member of Inspirato and want to start planning a year full of amazing vacations, shoot me a note with any questions and feel free to reach out directly to my contact at Inspirato here. Chelsea will get you all set up and off to your first Inspirato vacation in no time at all.
Happy Travels My Friends!
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