Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Crunchfund, Access Venture Partners and (randomly) Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira have gone in on a $17.5 million round of financing for discount luxury vacation startup Inspirato.
Unlike traditional contenders in the high-end vacation home space, Inspirato is able to offer steep discounts on luxury travel destinations by long-term leasing rather than owning its properties.
Because of the money saved by leasing, founders Brent and Brad Handler have forgone a broker’s fee per transaction and instead Inspirato profits off its one time initiation fee of $15,000 and a $2,500 per year maintenance cost.
Apparently there’s a huge market for this among rich people, as my former boss Mike Arrington just joined, and invested, “It’s not for everyone,” he says, “but there are a lot of people out there that see this as an almost magical deal.” The startup has amassed 900 members, with 100 added per month since its launch in January 2011.
If any of you are interested in paying a magnitude less per night for your Puerto Vallarta villa and want an initial $1,000 off, you can sign up with Mike’s affiliate link here – he’ll give you a $1,000 credit back to use on your first trip.
¡Buen viaje!
Inspirato is a private, members-only luxury destination club founded in January 2011 by destination club pioneers Brent Handler, Brad Handler, Martin Pucher and Brian Corbett. Designed specifically for a new generation of luxury consumers, Inspirato offers the best of destination club consistency and service, together with extraordinary value, flexibility and low-cost membership. In exchange for an initial membership fee and annual dues, Inspirato club members gain access to an expansive portfolio of multimillion-dollar homes in the world’s most...
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