Editor’s Note: Conscious Journeys is Universal Traveller’s editorial series spotlighting the people and principles behind purpose-driven luxury travel.
In this edition, Olivier Heuchenne, co-owner of Insider Villas, shares how he transformed two villas and a vision into a hospitality brand that blends sustainability with soul.
It reflects on human connection, thoughtful detail, and what luxury truly means when it’s rooted in care.
I Didn’t Set Out to Build a Villa Rental Business – Olivier Heuchenne
I didn’t set out to build a villa rental business. What I set out to do was craft experiences—holidays that felt less like transactions and more like meaningful moments.
Coming from a hotel background, hospitality has always been in my DNA. But this venture, this journey we’re on now—it’s something else entirely.
It’s a hybrid between the professionalism of hotels and the intimacy of a private home. It’s not about renting villas. It’s about curating villa holidays that feel personal, rooted, and intentional.
How It All Started
When we started, we had no investors, no funding—just two villas and an idea. Today, we work with over 300 villas across 18 countries. We’ve grown by staying close to our core belief: that luxury and sustainability aren’t opposites—they can, and should, coexist.
We’ve always felt like insiders with an outsider’s eye. I’m from Belgium, and my partner is from Sweden. We’ve lived in Tel Aviv, the Seychelles, and elsewhere. You learn to see places differently when you’re a foreigner for long enough.
Locals know the land, but outsiders can offer fresh perspectives, connecting global guests with local depth. That’s what we do. We build bridges between cultures, perspectives, and expectations.
What Sustainability Means to Us
In practice, sustainability for us means supporting local environments, people, and heritage—not just in theory, but in the everyday structure of our business. Every villa we work with has a human story behind it.
A gardener who knows the land. A housekeeper who has worked in that home for years. An owner who still manages the property themselves. We’re not in the business of managing villas—we’re in the business of showcasing places where people care.
We also believe in zero-kilometer luxury—where possible, that means fresh produce from the garden, local wines, and amenities that reflect the region. True luxury, to us, is not flash.
What Luxury Really Looks Like
It’s a freshly squeezed orange juice from the tree in your backyard. It’s a warm cookie made by the chef for your kids while preparing a five-course meal for the grownups. It’s arriving at a villa and realizing every detail—down to the coffee, the bedding, the welcome card—has been thoughtfully prepared for you.
Luxury, for us, is space, privacy, and peace of mind. It’s having access to something that’s not available online. It’s knowing that someone has anticipated your needs before you even arrive.
And sustainability plays into that—it’s sustainable because it’s human. Not mass-market. Not algorithm-driven. But intentional, thoughtful, and designed with care.
The Challenges of Staying Personal
Of course, there are challenges. Positioning is one of the biggest. We’re a small business, still growing, with a lean team and limited budget.
We’ve grown through word of mouth, personal relationships, and trade partners who know and trust us. We’re not a platform—we’re a people business.
And that’s what makes us different. Every guest, every booking, is a chance to connect. Some of our best collaborators today were once our hotel guests years ago. That trust, that continuity, is what we strive for.
What I’m most proud of?
The community we’ve built.
Our extended family of housekeepers, owners, agents, and guests. The fact that we’ve done all of this without cutting corners, without giving up on our values.
Conscious travel isn’t a trend—it’s a return to what travel has always been at its best: human, meaningful, transformative. And if we can offer that—through a villa, a view, a meal shared with loved ones—then we’ve done our job.
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