Aspen Lakes has become the first private golf resort and gated residential community to implement non-fungible tokens into its business model. Beginning in November, the popular destination in Sisters, Oregon owned by Rhue Resorts, will issue membership passes available as NFTs.
Aspen Lakes is home to all sorts of adventures, including kayaking, biking, fly-fishing, hiking, and skiing (depending on the season). And the 18-hole golf course designed by William Overdorf sits on 1,300 acres and has breathtaking views of the mountains. It has been featured in Golf Digest for its red sand bunkers and is valued by golfers who value luxury, exclusivity, and privacy.
Here’s how the NFT memberships work:
- The resort is releasing 10,000 Founding Family Memberships for the ETH equivalent of 15,000 a piece.
- These are lifetime memberships, but do not include annual fees and dues.
- The membership NFTs are owned in perpetuity and can be passed to friends and future generations.
The CEO of Rhue Resorts Cindy Wyant said that members could buy and sell their NFTs at any time “without consequence,” giving them ultimate control of their memberships.
And for folks who don’t play golf, Rhue Resorts has big plans for Aspen Lakes. Future projects include a petting zoo, cigar lounge, outdoor play structures, a 5-star hotel and day spa, an indoor waterpark, and a campground on a 12-acre lake. The resort even says it plans to build a neighborhood with a town square.
The Aspen Lakes’ NFTs will drop in November of 2022 and can be purchased with ETH or USD. The NFTs are being marketed as a generational experience that will only get better with time.
NFT Memberships Take Hold Across a Myriad of Sectors
Aspen Lakes might be the first world-class golf course to tie its membership to non-fungible tokens, but its certainly not the only company linking NFTs to memberships. Because NFTs are digital assets that can be linked to in-real-life (IRL) experiences and physical products, several brands and companies are experimenting with Web3 technology as membership passes. Here are some of the top stories from Rarity Sniper.
About a week ago, Spartan, the company behind some of the most grueling physical competitions in the world, dropped its ‘Unbreakable’ global membership NFT. Owning one of the 15,000 NFTs from the collection grants you access to all Spartan brand events and other perks.
Next, the global asset management firm VanEck airdropped 1,000 NFTs to onboard new members to the VanEck crypto community. The NFTs serve as digital membership cards giving holders access to exclusive events, research, and more.
Lastly, the French fashion house Balmain announced it partnered with MINTNFT to launch an NFT membership program. The program will eventually have up to 10,000 members who will receive a variety of rewards, including access to new NFT drops.
The range of sectors and companies getting involved in Web3 membership programs via NFTs shows both the utility and versatility of the new technology. Time will tell if Aspen Lakes can sell out its initial NFT membership launch. But even if it can’t, membership NFTs appear to be a growing trend worth paying attention to.