Luxury Operator Inspirato Welcomes a New CEO

06.12.2023 - 04:23 / skift.com / Srividya Kalyanaraman / New Ceo

Luxury hospitality brand Inspirato has a new CEO: Eric Grosse.

Grosse, who previously held a board position at Inspirato will be taking over as its chief executive officer effective immediately. Grosse comes from the travel and service industry — he has been the president of Expedia worldwide and was the co-founder and president of Hotwire. 

It’s not going to be an easy journey for Grosse. The company has mounting losses and it has been a soft season for vacation rentals. In March this year, the company said that with excess supply and lower occupancy, it would use online travel agencies, including Airbnb and Vrbo, to list its luxury rentals — but without the high-end frills — potentially hurting its “luxury” status.

The second prong to this strategy was to cut excess supply by terminating some leases. 

In July, it laid off 6% of its staff in a second round of layoffs.

Founded in 2010, Inspirato is currently unprofitable. For 2023, it anticipates total revenue between $320 million and $340 million and a full-year 2023 adjusted EBITDA loss between $30 million and $45 million. 

CEO Brent Handler decided to step down and make way for change. He told Skift, “My belief was that I was not the best person to execute on the profit strategy. And as the largest shareholder, I just looked with sober eyes and said, who can execute on this strategy the best?,” Handler said.  “Is it me who is really a company builder, entrepreneur, or is it Eric, a seasoned senior level executive and leader who has an opportunity now to come in and invigorate this team and obsess over the basics, the basics of providing this incredible member experience, the basics of improving your operational efficiency and technology.”

The Phoenix City Council in Arizona has unanimously approved regulations for short-term rentals following a September 6 vote legalizing backyard casitas, reported. This changed code will introduce a permitting process for property owners wishing to rent out their spaces on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo. 

The city must issue or deny permits within seven days of application for all short-term rentals in Phoenix. Additional regulations include an initial and renewal fee of $250 per permit; background checks for owners or designees to ensure they are not convicted sex offenders or felons; notification to adjacent properties about short-term rental operations; and the display of permit numbers on all advertisements.

Enforcement begins on January 15, 2024, with civil penalties of up to $1,000 for every 30 days of operation without a permit. However, the new regulations do not control the concentration of such rentals in neighborhoods.

After two years of debate and regulation surrounding short-term rentals in Colorado’s