Interview with Matthew Burnford from MBM Chalets
Matthew Burnford
1. How and when did MBM Chalets start?
MBM Chalets was founded in 2022, but the story dates back a decade. My wife Jo and I built our own chalet in La Tzoumaz in 2012 and spent years experiencing the industry from the owner’s side.
What we found was a consistent gap between what owners expected and what agencies delivered. Service that could at times feel inattentive, communication that wasn’t always consistent, and a standard of care that didn’t fully reflect what guests on a luxury holiday should expect.
That frustration became the foundation of MBM. As chalet owners ourselves, we understood exactly what the experience should feel like, for owners and guests alike.
Our business is headquartered in Verbier and La Tzoumaz. We are not a London office with a Swiss portfolio, but a team that is genuinely based here, knows the area, and treats every property as if it were our own.
Attention to detail is our mantra. Our goal is simple: exceptional service for guests and complete peace of mind for owners.
2. What were the biggest challenges in building your own chalet and what tips would you give others?
The Alps look straightforward until you start building in them. Seasonal access, alpine contractors, and planning rules that vary canton by canton make it genuinely complicated.
Switzerland’s Lex Koller legislation is something a lot of foreign buyers don’t know about until they’re already in the process. It restricts what non-Swiss nationals can purchase in many resort areas, including Verbier. Understanding your eligibility before you fall in love with a property is essential.
The authorisation process through the canton of Valais takes time, and not all properties qualify. Getting the right legal advice early, and working with notaries who know the system, saves a lot of pain later.
Budget more than you think you’ll need. Not because builders are unreliable, but because alpine construction throws up surprises that have nothing to do with anyone’s competence.
Think about rental from the start. Some of the most beautiful design decisions are the least practical for guests. Storage, boot rooms, the right number of bathrooms, heating that actually works at altitude, these things matter more than another feature, a fireplace.
And I also recommend working with local people. Architects, builders, and notaries who know the terrain and the regulations. The Alps have their own logic and it’s worth respecting that.
3. Why would you choose a chalet over a hotel?
A chalet gives you the whole building. No shared corridors, no lobby, no nodding at strangers over breakfast. It’s entirely yours for the week.
For families and groups, that privacy is transformative. Children can move freely, adults can actually relax, and the group stays together rather than disappearing into separate rooms.
The economics often work in your favour too. Split between eight or ten people, a well-chosen chalet frequently undercuts what you’d spend on hotel rooms of a comparable standard, particularly in peak weeks when hotel prices escalate sharply.
There’s also a quality of experience that hotels simply can’t replicate. Apres ski around your own fire, dinner at your own table, the mountain outside your window. Hotels are designed for efficiency. Chalets are designed for living in.
For anyone thinking about buying in resort, spending a week in a private chalet is also by far the best way to understand what you’re looking for. Far more useful than a hotel stay.
4. What is the smallest chalet and what is the starting price bracket?
Our portfolio covers Switzerland, France, and Italy, with properties suited to different group sizes and budgets.
Prices run from CHF 400 per night up to CHF 4,000 per night, depending on the property, the resort, and the season.
Every chalet in the portfolio is handpicked for its design, location, and comfort. The range exists, but the standard remains high throughout.
5. Are they all fully catered?
All MBM chalets are self-catered. The chalet is the starting point and you build the week around what you actually want, not around a fixed programme.
If you want a private chef cooking for you every evening, that’s straightforward to arrange. If you’d rather cook together as a group one night and go out the next, that works too.
Some guests eat in every night. Others barely use the kitchen. A lot of people mix it up across the week, which is exactly the point.
Skye Apartment - Verbier
The same thinking applies on the mountain. A ski instructor, a mountain guide, a day of heli-skiing, or just heading out on your own with a lift pass. It’s entirely up to you.
There are no set menus, no fixed schedules, no sense of being managed through your own holiday. It’s your chalet and your week.
6. How have chalets changed over the past 15 years in what they’re offering?
The standard has shifted considerably. What counted as a luxury chalet fifteen years ago would struggle to compete now. Guests expect more and the market has responded.
Interiors have moved well beyond the pine-clad ski lodge. The better chalets now read more like high-end boutique hotels, with proper design thinking behind every room.
Wellness has become a given rather than a selling point. Hot tubs, steam rooms, treatment rooms, proper spa facilities. Guests factor these in from the start.
Food has changed too. Restaurant-quality cooking in a private setting is now an expectation, not a surprise. The private chef offer has grown up significantly.
Technology has kept pace. Home automation, high-end cinema rooms, sound systems that actually work. The practical infrastructure of a good chalet has become much more sophisticated.
There’s also a growing conversation around sustainability. Guests are increasingly asking about eco credentials, local sourcing, and how a property sits within its community. That’s a shift worth taking seriously.
7. Where is the most popular location and does this change year on year?
The 4-Valleys ski area, with Verbier at its centre, remains consistently the most in demand. The skiing is exceptional, the resort has genuine energy, and the international client base means it holds its value across seasons.
MBM is headquartered in Verbier and La Tzoumaz, so this is home territory in a real sense. We know the properties, the people, and the nuances of the area in a way that takes years to build.
The broader portfolio covers Switzerland, France, and Italy, and different resorts pull ahead in different seasons. Summer has genuinely shifted the picture. Resorts that were exclusively winter destinations are now attracting serious summer interest, and that’s changing how owners think about their properties.
8. How popular are chalets during the summer months?
Summer has become a real part of the business, not an afterthought. Bookings have grown year on year and the profile of the summer guest has changed.
Hiking, trail running, mountain biking, family holidays, wellness retreats. The Alps in summer offer something genuinely different, and guests are starting to realise it.
The climate argument is also gaining traction. The Alps offer a temperate summer that’s increasingly appealing compared to the heat elsewhere in Europe. No airports to dread, no crowds, and genuinely beautiful scenery.
And the same chalet that’s full of skis and boot warmers in February feels like an entirely different place in July. Which is rather the point.
9. How do luxury chalet owners choose the agency to work with, and what are their biggest frustrations?
Trust comes first. Owners are handing over a significant asset and they need to know it will be treated accordingly. Track record and referrals matter far more than marketing in this space.
The frustrations are fairly consistent. Poor communication, pricing that isn’t transparent, and the feeling of being just another property on a list rather than a client with a relationship.
Owners want an agency that manages their chalet the way they would themselves, attentive, proactive, and honest about what’s working and what isn’t.
Chalet Baita - Pattemouche Italy
For owners who purchased under Lex Koller, there are additional obligations around rental compliance and authorisation conditions. They need an agency that understands those requirements, not one that’s only focused on filling weeks.
Our approach is built around good service, clear communication, reliability, and a strong sense of traditional values. It’s not complicated, but it’s something that can still be overlooked in parts of the market.
10. What sets MBM Chalets apart from other agencies?
We’re chalet owners ourselves. That’s not a marketing line, it’s the reason the business exists and it shapes how we approach everything.
The portfolio is deliberately small. Every property is handpicked for its design, location, and comfort, and every client gets proper attention because the volume is manageable.
We don’t prescribe. Guests tell us what they want and we build around that. Owners tell us what they need and we deliver it. The relationship runs both ways.
Local knowledge is genuinely hard to replicate. We’ve been in the 4-Valleys for a long time. We know the area, the people, the properties, and the process in a way that can be difficult for agencies running things remotely to match.
The repeat booking rate says something. Guests come back, and owners stay. That’s the measure that matters most.
11. Do you offer any experiences beyond a stay in a chalet?
The chalet is the base and everything else builds from there. Private chefs, ski instructors, mountain guides, heli-skiing days, transfers, childcare, restaurant bookings. Whatever makes the week work.
We recently launched the MBM Experiences Collection, our curated series of wellness, family and adventure programmes designed to complement chalet stays. These range from longevity-focused retreats and women’s return-to-ski programmes to family ski experiences, corporate retreats, heli-skiing and off-piste touring – all supported by our concierge team and tailored to each guest. Guests today want more than a beautiful property. They want privacy, meaningful time together and the confidence that everything behind the scenes is being managed safely and discreetly. That’s the idea behind launching these new experiences.
We also have strong relationships with local operators across the 4-Valleys and the broader Alpine network, so the recommendations are genuine rather than just whoever answers the phone.
For guests who are also thinking about buying in resort, we can support that process properly. Property search, Lex Koller eligibility screening, introductions to approved notaries and Swiss lenders experienced with foreign purchases, and full property and rental management once the purchase completes.
The aim is to handle everything practical so that guests and owners can focus on the reason they came to the mountains in the first place.