What VILLANOVO does

Villanovo SARL is a privately held, founder-owned French luxury villa rental agency headquartered in Paris (244 rue de Rivoli) and founded in 2013 by David and Géraldine Schneuwly, with origins in Marrakech. The company operates a curated rental platform covering approximately 2,800 owner-managed villas, chalets, fincas, and riads across more than 35 countries spanning Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland), Africa (Morocco, Mauritius, Seychelles), Asia (Indonesia, Thailand), and the Caribbean. Its technology stack is a multilingual, multi-currency direct website (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German; 14 supported currencies) with searchable property listings, an inquiry-to-booking flow, and a separate B2B agent/tour operator portal at luxury.villanovo.com/agent-partners/.

The business earns transaction-based commission on villa bookings, supplemented by concierge and ancillary service fees (private chefs, airport transfers, boat trips, wellness treatments, car rental). Villanovo holds a fully bonded French travel agency license (APST financial guarantee, Atout France registration), and pairs each reservation with a dedicated concierge team and travel guides distributed through its Villanovo Magazine content hub. The company also distributes through luxury villa consortia affiliations (XO Private, Ultra Villa, Connections Luxury) and has expanded into an adjacent luxury villas-for-sale real estate service.

Customer segments center on high-net-worth families and groups of friends taking luxury holidays (primary), with secondary segments in corporate retreats/MICE and milestone-celebration travel (weddings, anniversaries). Geographic distribution is heavily Mediterranean/European, with the Balearic Islands (199 villas across Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca, Formentera), the French Alps and Morocco/Marrakech as anchor inventories. The company is bootstrapped and remains under founder control, with no institutional investors or parent company disclosed.

Name

VILLANOVO

Legal name

Villanovo SARL

Website

https://villanovo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Villanovo is a privately held, Paris-based luxury villa rental agency operating a curated platform of approximately 2,800 owner-managed villas across 35+ countries, serving high-net-worth families and groups with concierge-supported bookings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Vacation Rentals

NAICS

Rental and Leasing Services (532)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Luxury Villa Property Management & Concierge Services (THAMAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Resort & Branded Residence Vacation Rental Management (BPAJAIAE), Lodging Booking & Accommodation Management (HSACAKAC)

Keywords

• Luxury villa rentals
• Vacation property rentals
• Bespoke concierge services
• Private holiday homes
• Luxury travel agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Villa Rental Transactions: Villanovo earns commission on each villa booking facilitated through its platform. As a fully bonded travel agency, it charges guests rental fees for properties in its portfolio. The company offers concierge services (private chef, airport transfers, experiences) as add-ons bundled with the villa rental booking.
2. Concierge & Ancillary Services: A dedicated concierge service coordinates add-on services including private chefs, wellness treatments, boat excursions, and airport transfers, which are charged on top of the villa rental fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Villanovo is a fully bonded French travel agency that curates and rents a portfolio of approximately 2,800 owner-managed luxury villas, chalets, fincas, and riads across 35+ countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Bookings are supported by a destination-specialist team and an in-house concierge that arranges airport transfers, private chefs, boat trips, wellness treatments, and restaurant reservations on top of the rental fee.

Product overview

Villanovo is a luxury villa rental company operating a platform-plus-services model with a portfolio of approximately 2,800 owner-managed properties across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. The core product is luxury villa rentals spanning destinations including Morocco (Marrakech, Essaouira), Mauritius, France (Corsica, Île de Ré, French Riviera, Provence, French Alps), Switzerland, Spain (Balearic Islands including Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca, Formentera), Portugal, Italy (Tuscany, Sardinia, Sicily, Amalfi Coast), Greece, Indonesia (Bali), Thailand, Seychelles, and the Caribbean. The platform is complemented by add-on services including dedicated concierge (arranging transfers, chefs, boat trips), travel guides, and eco-responsible tree-planting partnership. The company also maintains an agent/tour operator portal and a villas-for-sale real estate service. Property types include luxury villas, chalets in the Alps, riads in Marrakech, fincas, and historic estates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 98.6% guest satisfaction rate based on 6,649 reviews (Trustpilot average rating: 4.64/5)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• A Tree for YouminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn eco-responsible partnership where one reservation = one tree planted. A Tree for You operates tree planting projects in France and worldwide, and Villanovo promotes this environmental initiative to its guests as part of its sustainability commitment.
• XO PrivatecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerXO Private is a luxury villa rental network/consortium. Villanovo is affiliated with XO Private, leveraging this channel for referral-based distribution of its villa portfolio to high-net-worth travelers.
• Ultra VillacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUltra Villa is a luxury villa rental network. Villanovo maintains an affiliation with Ultra Villa as a partner company, leveraging its distribution network for client referrals.
• Connections LuxurycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerConnections Luxury is a luxury travel network. Villanovo is affiliated with Connections Luxury as a partner company, leveraging its referral network for client acquisition in the luxury travel segment.
• APST (Association Professionnelle de Solidarité du Tourisme)coreOthersVillanovo is fully bonded under APST's financial guarantee scheme, providing consumer protection for advance payments made by travelers. APST is the French travel industry solidarity guarantee association.
• Atout FrancecoreOthersVillanovo holds a travel agent licence from Atout France, the French tourism development agency. This regulatory affiliation demonstrates compliance with French travel agency licensing requirements and provides additional consumer confidence.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Plum Guide: Plum Guide operates a curated luxury vacation rental platform with a vetted portfolio of high-end homes, directly competing with Villanovo for HNW travelers seeking quality-assured villa stays in similar European and global destinations.
• Le Collectionist: Le Collectionist is a Paris-based luxury villa rental platform offering curated, high-end properties across Europe with concierge services—closely comparable to Villanovo's Paris-rooted, French-language luxury villa proposition.
• The Thinking Traveller: The Thinking Traveller is a specialist luxury villa rental company focused on the Mediterranean (Sicily, Greece, Corsica, Mallorca) with curated, inspected properties—directly comparable to Villanovo's owner-vetted Mediterranean portfolio.
• Oliver's Travels: Oliver's Travels is a UK-based curated luxury villa rental platform offering handpicked properties across Europe and beyond with concierge support, serving a similar HNW customer profile and overlapping destination footprint with Villanovo.
• BoutiqueHomes: BoutiqueHomes is a curated boutique villa rental platform emphasizing architect-designed and character properties worldwide—overlapping with Villanovo's curated, design-forward luxury villa proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Vrbo (Expedia Group): Vrbo is a major vacation rental platform owned by Expedia Group offering villa and home rentals globally; though not luxury-focused, it competes for upscale Mediterranean and European bookings where Villanovo operates.
• Onefinestay: Onefinestay is Accor's luxury vacation rental brand offering curated upscale villas and homes with concierge services, competing with Villanovo in the premium short-term stay category while backed by a major hospitality group.
• Airbnb Luxe: Airbnb Luxe is Airbnb's premium tier offering luxury villa and vacation home rentals with concierge services, competing directly with Villanovo in the curated HNW segment but with vastly greater scale, brand, and capital resources.
• Luxury Retreats (Airbnb): Luxury Retreats, now part of Airbnb, is a curated luxury villa rental platform originally serving HNW clients in global destinations—functionally similar to Villanovo's offering but operating at significantly larger scale.

Regional players

• Belvilla: Belvilla is a European vacation rental brand offering villas and holiday homes primarily across Europe, overlapping with Villanovo's European destination base though with a broader, less curated mass-market positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/villanovo
• Xx.com/villanovo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/villanovo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VILLANOVO