yesfoto/iStock(NEW YORK) — Think of it as Rent the Runway, but for luxury hotel stays.
Inspirato has just launched what’s being billed as the world’s first luxury travel subscription service. For $2,500 per month, members of Inspirato Pass get access to more than 60,000 worldwide luxury vacation homes, hotels, resorts and experiences including cruises, safaris and sporting events, with no nightly rates, taxes, or fees.
To book, passholders visit the Inspirato Pass website and browse available trips in more than 150 locations throughout the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. Reserve any available trip and book the next reservation upon check out. The list of available trips refreshes daily, with a continual supply of new choices, the company said.
A check by “Good Morning America” showed 72,000 trips available with no filters applied to destination or check-in date. We checked a peak travel week — Christmas 2019 week — and found more than 1,400 trips, some in popular destinations like New York City and Paris as well as warm-weather destinations like Miami and Mexico. With peak travel dates commanding the highest prices of the year, the subscription service could potentially benefit a traveler even if they don’t use the pass each month.
The properties offered are true four-and-five star hotels. Even with the peak travel dates set as filters, there were plenty of options ranging from two to seven nights over the holiday week. But the service is brand new, and it’s unclear how many people will be allowed to join. If it takes off, it’s possible it will be harder to secure accommodations in the most desirable destinations over popular travel times.
Like a Rent the Runway subscription, it’s best not to go in with a particular dress — or in this case, hotel — in mind, but rather shop by style. On Inspirato, there are four “styles” to choose from: Beach, Mountain, Lifestyle, Metropolitan.
Only one person in the traveling party needs to be a pass holder and can have as many people the property indicates it can accommodate.
Pass holders need to check out of one property before reserving another and for that reason, it would be difficult to plan back-to-back trips. Even if a traveler planned to stay in the same destination, there’s no guarantee a property nearby would be available. If airfare is required to get to the next destination, some degree of a planning period, a presumably downtime, would be required.
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