Hosted Villas
Inspirations
Contact Information: 1-800-374-6637
Founded in 1991, as Homesaway, the business operated out of a single villa in the Burgundy region of France and catered solely to groups of cycling enthusiasts. In 1995, the business was sold with the new owner looking to expand the destination and villa offerings.
Following expansion into neighbouring Italy, the business introduced the concept of Local Hosts as expert private guides who could take guests deep into the local culture. With this focus on providing authentic local experiences, the business grew to be one of the more successful European villa travel companies, and the "hosting" concept gave rise to the name change to Hosted Villas.
While HV was an early pioneer in using villas and local hosts to experience a destination, the widespread adoption of the internet led to a number of new entrants in the villa space. Most of these competitors were listing services competing on price, while HV continued to differentiate by staying true to the principles of hand selecting properties, providing exceptional pre-trip planning and personally hosting our guests in each destination.
In 2018, we embarked on a significant expansion program adding 7 new destinations in the Americas and the Caribbean featuring over 125 new hand-selected properties. And then the pandemic arrived in 2020, disrupting travel along with almost every other aspect of modern life, and we went into hibernation and focused on survival...
Having survived the pandemic, we are more excited than ever about the possibilities for travel and it's almost infinite capacity to restore and regenerate the human spirit. We have added bespoke planning services to our offering and are continuing to develop new and existing destinations options, from private yachts to private tours.
