A handful of the properties listed on Inspirato’s website. (Screenshot)
Recently departed co-founders of the luxury vacation club Inspirato are suing to hang on to a lavish perk that allowed them to book free accommodations at travel hotspots for life.
Brad and Brent Handler, who launched Inspirato in 2011 after previously starting the travel club Exclusive Resorts, have sued Inspirato for allegedly not honoring their separation agreements — specifically, blocking their vacations.
Brent Handler was CEO of Inspirato until September 2023, and both men were on the company’s board. But in their Tuesday lawsuit, the men wrote that Brad was removed from the board this August, when a new investor was named CEO.
Brent then resigned from the board in early September, according to the lawsuit. Inspirato announced last month it had named three new board members, but did not mention the Handlers had left.
Payam Zamani, the new CEO, told BusinessDen cost-cutting was needed when he joined Inspirato. Expenses “were recklessly growing out of control,” he said on Thursday.
“It’s clear that the finances of the company were not exactly what one would hope for. So, I’ve been tasked with addressing many different aspects of the business … This specific benefit that the brothers had given themselves basically gives them $138,000 of free travel at this point that will grow to maybe as much as $500,000 a year in the next 20 years,” Zamani said.
When the company was formed by the Handlers and two others, the four founders carved out what they called the “founder use club benefit.” In other words, a free Inspirato membership for life, with 60 days or $60,000 in stays annually. That dollar figure has increased annually with inflation and will continue to for as long as the founders live, as Zamani notes.
Zamani believes the founder benefit needs “to be reviewed and retooled.”
The brothers have specific travel plans in limbo.
Former Inspirato CEO Brent Handler.
Brent Handler said Inspirato rejected his reservations for a four-bedroom condo in Vail for one week in January 2025; an oceanfront mansion in Real del Mar, Mexico, for a week in February; seven days in a South Carolina island home in early June; and just as long in a three story house in the mountains of Montana in late July.
A similar fate befell his brother when Brad Handler tried to reserve a few days at a 2,700-square-foot house on the island of Hawaii, a newly renovated historic home in Charleston, S.C., and a suite 27 stories above the SoHo neighborhood of New York City — all in March 2025.
The brothers say that Inspirato’s in-house lawyer, Brent Wadman, initially told them the founder benefit didn’t comply with federal tax law. When they said they were willing to work through that, Wadman told them to accept a “reduction in the economic value,” they claim.
“File your (law)suit or send a proposal for a revised benefit,” Wadman reportedly emailed the Handlers last month. “Again, no reservations until this is resolved.”
So, on Tuesday, they went with Wadman’s first option.
“Unhappy with the binding agreements it struck with each of Brent and Brad Handler, Inspirato refuses to perform unless the Handlers reopen their agreements and negotiate worse deals for themselves,” their lawsuit states. “That is not how contracts work. A deal is a deal.”
The founders are asking Denver District Court Judge Andrew Luxen to declare that they still have a founder benefit and therefore Inspirato is in breach of their separation agreement. Their lawyers are Ryan Cooke and Jessica Eller with Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell in Denver.
Inspirato went public in early 2022. Steep drops in its stock price — a 98 percent decline all time as of this week — led Nasdaq to threaten to delist it. Brent Handler was initially replaced as CEO by former Expedia executive Eric Grosse, who was in the role for less than a year before being replaced by Zamani. Inspirato laid off 15 percent of its employees in August.
“Inspirato is a great brand, a great service, but there are aspects of the way that it was managed that I would like to see modified moving forward,” Zamani said by phone.
“Of course, you cannot cut your way to prosperity. You need a vision for the future of any business and I think that we have a great vision,” the CEO said. “I think 2025 will be the beginning of a new chapter for us and hopefully a profitable one.”
As for the Handlers, Zamani said that he wishes them well, benefit dispute aside.
“As a (company) founder, I do believe that founders need to be treated with respect, because ultimately they are the ones who provided the opportunity for all of us to be a part of this company,” he said. “But at the same time, I think we all have an obligation to be reasonable and not excessive in the way that we go about putting in place benefit packages.”
A handful of the properties listed on Inspirato’s website. (Screenshot)
Recently departed co-founders of the luxury vacation club Inspirato are suing to hang on to a lavish perk that allowed them to book free accommodations at travel hotspots for life.
Brad and Brent Handler, who launched Inspirato in 2011 after previously starting the travel club Exclusive Resorts, have sued Inspirato for allegedly not honoring their separation agreements — specifically, blocking their vacations.
Brent Handler was CEO of Inspirato until September 2023, and both men were on the company’s board. But in their Tuesday lawsuit, the men wrote that Brad was removed from the board this August, when a new investor was named CEO.
Brent then resigned from the board in early September, according to the lawsuit. Inspirato announced last month it had named three new board members, but did not mention the Handlers had left.
Payam Zamani, the new CEO, told BusinessDen cost-cutting was needed when he joined Inspirato. Expenses “were recklessly growing out of control,” he said on Thursday.
“It’s clear that the finances of the company were not exactly what one would hope for. So, I’ve been tasked with addressing many different aspects of the business … This specific benefit that the brothers had given themselves basically gives them $138,000 of free travel at this point that will grow to maybe as much as $500,000 a year in the next 20 years,” Zamani said.
When the company was formed by the Handlers and two others, the four founders carved out what they called the “founder use club benefit.” In other words, a free Inspirato membership for life, with 60 days or $60,000 in stays annually. That dollar figure has increased annually with inflation and will continue to for as long as the founders live, as Zamani notes.
Zamani believes the founder benefit needs “to be reviewed and retooled.”
The brothers have specific travel plans in limbo.
Former Inspirato CEO Brent Handler.
Brent Handler said Inspirato rejected his reservations for a four-bedroom condo in Vail for one week in January 2025; an oceanfront mansion in Real del Mar, Mexico, for a week in February; seven days in a South Carolina island home in early June; and just as long in a three story house in the mountains of Montana in late July.
A similar fate befell his brother when Brad Handler tried to reserve a few days at a 2,700-square-foot house on the island of Hawaii, a newly renovated historic home in Charleston, S.C., and a suite 27 stories above the SoHo neighborhood of New York City — all in March 2025.
The brothers say that Inspirato’s in-house lawyer, Brent Wadman, initially told them the founder benefit didn’t comply with federal tax law. When they said they were willing to work through that, Wadman told them to accept a “reduction in the economic value,” they claim.
“File your (law)suit or send a proposal for a revised benefit,” Wadman reportedly emailed the Handlers last month. “Again, no reservations until this is resolved.”
So, on Tuesday, they went with Wadman’s first option.
“Unhappy with the binding agreements it struck with each of Brent and Brad Handler, Inspirato refuses to perform unless the Handlers reopen their agreements and negotiate worse deals for themselves,” their lawsuit states. “That is not how contracts work. A deal is a deal.”
The founders are asking Denver District Court Judge Andrew Luxen to declare that they still have a founder benefit and therefore Inspirato is in breach of their separation agreement. Their lawyers are Ryan Cooke and Jessica Eller with Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell in Denver.
Inspirato went public in early 2022. Steep drops in its stock price — a 98 percent decline all time as of this week — led Nasdaq to threaten to delist it. Brent Handler was initially replaced as CEO by former Expedia executive Eric Grosse, who was in the role for less than a year before being replaced by Zamani. Inspirato laid off 15 percent of its employees in August.
“Inspirato is a great brand, a great service, but there are aspects of the way that it was managed that I would like to see modified moving forward,” Zamani said by phone.
“Of course, you cannot cut your way to prosperity. You need a vision for the future of any business and I think that we have a great vision,” the CEO said. “I think 2025 will be the beginning of a new chapter for us and hopefully a profitable one.”
As for the Handlers, Zamani said that he wishes them well, benefit dispute aside.
“As a (company) founder, I do believe that founders need to be treated with respect, because ultimately they are the ones who provided the opportunity for all of us to be a part of this company,” he said. “But at the same time, I think we all have an obligation to be reasonable and not excessive in the way that we go about putting in place benefit packages.”
