Paolo Macchiaroli, luxury holiday rental entrepreneur, speaks to Muhammad about why the discerning luxury client is now swopping a 5 star hotel for a private luxury holiday villa experience. He talks about how the industry has changed and the perks of joining the club to rent your own villa.
Muhammad Aljunied: Looking back at your transition from corporate marketing and international communications to founding My Private Villas over a decade ago, what was the primary gap in the market you wanted to fix?
Paolo Macchiaroli: When I started, the landscape of high-end travel was heavily fractured. You had standard five-star luxury hotels—which, no matter how grand, still force you to share spaces with hundreds of other guests—and then you had a jungle of unverified online listings promising the moon with very little quality control.
I wanted to build an alternative—a curated private club of owners and extraordinary properties where discretion, hyper-personalized service, and architectural soul take center stage. True luxury isn’t about flashing a well-known brand logo anymore; it’s about having space, absolute privacy, and an environment tailored precisely to how you want to live, even if it’s just for a week.
Muhammad Aljunied: The definition of luxury travel has shifted dramatically over the years. When dealing with ultra-high-net-worth clients, celebrities, and global leaders, what are they actually looking for when they book a private estate or island?
Paolo Macchiaroli: Time and peace. When you reach a certain level of success or public visibility, your most precious and heavily guarded commodity is anonymity. Our clients aren’t looking to be seen in the hotel lobby of a trendy resort. They want a sanctuary where they can let their guard down completely with family and trusted friends.
Beyond that, it’s about hyper-customization. Anyone can rent a beautiful building, but what transforms a stay is intuitive service—anticipating needs before they are spoken, having a private chef who understands subtle dietary preferences, or arranging seamless, private logistics that bypass the noise of commercial travel.
Muhammad Aljunied: With hundreds of properties spanning historic European villas, alpine chalets, and remote private islands, how do you maintain such strict curation standards in a world obsessed with scaling and mass automation?
Paolo Macchiaroli: By refusing to compromise on human connection. We don’t list properties algorithmically. Every single villa, chalet, or island in our collection undergoes a rigorous evaluation process based on its architecture, location, character, and the quality of the people managing it.
I have a deep passion for interior design and heritage, and you can feel that in our portfolio. A property must possess a distinct soul. If it feels corporate, sterile, or soulless, it doesn’t make the cut. Technology should only be used to streamline communication, never to replace the personal touch required in high-end hospitality.
Muhammad Aljunied: Whether managing an expanding global collection or navigating the shifting demands of modern luxury travelers, what core philosophy continues to drive you forward?
Paolo Macchiaroli: Attention to the infinite details. Luxury is fundamentally quiet and invisible—it’s the result of immense preparation behind the scenes so that everything feels effortless to the guest. My goal has always been simple: to create environments where people can disconnect from the chaos of the world and reconnect with what matters most. As long as we keep delivering those unforgettable memories, we are fulfilling our purpose.
