The Airbnb rival offering childcare, personal trainers and chefs

Tired of the woes of frequent travelling, Karolina Saviova and Vivi Cahyadi set up their own full-service travel rental company, AltoVita, writes Andy Martin

AltoVita has expanded its operation to over 30 cities (Altovita)

The phrase “frequent traveller” suggests a life of ease and luxury. Doormen salute. Those business class seats are so comfy. Another glass of champagne, sir? Oh, all right then. But the reality is not quite so rosy. You’re not always living the dream. As Karolina Saviova discovered through bitter experience when she had to go to Mumbai on business a few years ago and booked an Airbnb place – only to end up left standing as darkness fell, “just me, my suitcase, and a lot of cows”. When you’re on the road you don’t want to end up on the street.

Thus was planted the seed that would become AltoVita, the a la carte travel platform for high fliers. Saviova, disenchanted with the life of a nomadic business journalist studying energy policy in Istanbul, India and Gabon, went to a party at the Four Seasons hotel in Mumbai. She knew nobody. But a guy asked her for a light. He turned out to be a good friend of Vivi Cahyadi and had a notion that the two women ought to meet. Thousands of miles apart, they were introduced via Skype, and hit it off.

They put paid to the absurd idea that east is east and west is west. Karolina, 28, was born in Prague, went to a French-speaking school, and studied international affairs in Paris at Sciences Po (the School of Political Science). Vivi, 36, was born in Java to Indonesian-Chinese parents, and went to school in Australia and college in the US. Between them they speak about a dozen languages, from Czech to Chinese. Fortunately for me that includes perfectly fluent English, as I found out when I went to meet them at the Landmark hotel opposite Marylebone Station.