HAUTE PARTNERS: JETSET with Inspirato

Every residence has an on-site Destination Concierge available to members 24/7 for anything they may need; visitors enjoy the highest quality service from the moment they deplane until the moment of departure.

Inspirato is the newest player in luxury travel, an exclusive, members-only destination club for those who want to change the way they vacation.

Founded in January 2011 by Brent Handler and team, this club offers members what others do not – a personal vacation advisor, low member rates with a plethora of haute benefits and best of all, no complicated rules and restrictions.

Already, Inspirato has more than 850 members with an average of 100 new members joining each month. Members range from CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to New York baseball icon Mark Teixeira to everyday vacationers who simply appreciate luxury.

“It’s a wide gambit of customers,” Handler said. “But what people have in common is they don’t view overspending on luxury as a status symbol. They really are focused on great quality and accommodations for family and friends, and want to do so at value.”

Handler, who co-founded Exclusive Resorts in 2002, took his prior experience to create something entirely different. He wanted to create a private club whose members could enjoy every vacation at a great value and with no restrictions.

“We really take what’s wrong with renting a home [online] and combine it with what’s right in a destination club – service, experience and quality of homes,” Handler said. “[We] put all of that into a package, which [becomes] the Inspirato club.”

Another of Inspirato’s trademarks is great value. The average Inspirato vacation costs 50 percent less than other luxury options. Instead of buying homes and charging broker fees, Inspirato leases its residences. This means members never pay extra fees.

And the most crucial difference between Inspirato and other luxury traveling services is simple – there are no complex rules and problematical restrictions. Members have access to 85 luxurious homes in 25 locations and are able to visit these locations throughout the year, an unlimited amount of times.

Inspirato destinations include London, Tuscany, Vail, Los Cabos, Maui, Punta Cana, the Bahamas, the British West Indies, Mexico, Tahoe, St. Bart’s, Paris and the Galapagos Islands. For a complete list of destinations, visit www.inspirato.com.

The Inspirato team provides each member with a Personal Vacation Advisor, who plans every step of their luxury getaway. The only work members have to do is choosing their destination. However, if the member isn’t up for it, advisors will help do that, too.

The initiation fee and a low annual membership fee gives members access to all the destinations and all the Inspirato partnerships. Avantair, Solairus Aviation, TOUR GCX, Luggage Forward and Destination Cellars all collaborate with Inspirato to give its members benefits, and make their travel and vacation time even more relaxing. But when it all comes down to it, it’s all about making members happy.

“We have to be extraordinary at loving our members and caring for our members,” Handler said. “We have to be obsessed with their satisfaction. You can’t be successful in a company unless you have a very clear point of view on what you’re trying to accomplish.” It seems what Inspirato is trying to accomplish is to simply change the way people think about high-end vacationing – and Handler has every confidence that it’s a successful practice: “Every traveler owes it to themselves to look at Inspirato because it will change the way they vacation for the better.”