To some, it’s a sign of loving a challenge; to others an indication of single-minded determination. For Mandy Farmer, the internal drive to always reach higher is a little of both.
The president and chief executive of Accent Inns and Hotel Zed is the first to admit she’s known for pushing her own limits and, at times, pushing the patience and understanding of those around her in the pursuit of innovation, creativity and business success.
But don’t expect her to apologize for it.
“I know for sure I am an innovator and so I know there will always be something interesting that I’m doing. You have to make sure things evolve with the times rather than doing the same-old same-old. I love making sure we evolve with the times,” said Farmer.
She is someone who loves nothing more than relaxing with a cold beer and a blank piece of paper on which she can start to imagine new and interesting ways of delivering a quality and fun night’s stay at any Accent Inns property.
That drive and willingness to poke and prod at the boundaries paid off this year with Hotel Zed, which has been humming since it opened in the spring.
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The hotel, which could be the first of a few retro-themed hotels launched by the company, pays homage to the 1960s and 1970s with a bright colour scheme, authentic retro touches such as rotary phones, a 1967 Volkswagen van as a shuttle bus, bulletin boards in lieu of guest directories and board games and ping pong instead of video games and movies.
It was an idea 12 years in the making, coming to Farmer during her master’s program at Royal Roads University.
And it took 10 years before the partners at Accent Inns agreed to give it a shot.
“Letting me do the Hotel Zed was all about faith,” said Farmer. “They initially read the business plan and said no way it would work. I argued and they went out on a limb and I will be forever grateful.”
That she fought for it should surprise no one. After all, when asked what advice she would give to her younger self, the 40-year-old Farmer is quick to say “never stop dreaming.”
“Hotel Zed took me 10 years to get my business partners onside. I think youth today have some phenomenal ideas that we often think will never happen and they get shelved,” Farmer said. “But this goes to show that if you keep those dreams alive, keep them watered, you may be surprised where they end up.
“Don’t give up after your first [idea fails] or your 10th.”
Her father, Terry Farmer, who founded Accent Inns in 1986, expected nothing less when he brought his daughter back to Victoria as a sales manager in 1997.
“She loves a challenge, thrives on a challenge,” he said, noting his daughter has taken the ball and run with it since he made her president of the company in 2008. “She has followed along with everything I started here and she’s taken it a further step and it’s been great to see her do that.”
Terry Farmer has stepped back from day-to-day operations, but remains chairman of the company’s board of directors and still shares an office with his daughter. Both say, with wry smiles, that’s because neither of them will completely divulge what they are doing at any given time and expect the other to catch up.
Their close relationship, both personally and professionally, is built on mutual respect and admiration.
“I greatly respect the wisdom that my dad and partners bring. They have a wealth of experience so completely beyond my knowledge that I try to listen to them, be taught and mentored by them and, at the same time, they let me come up with crazy ideas and implement them,” said Mandy.
“It’s been a natural fit,” added Terry. “We get on very well. There have been very few serious conflicts. There have been a couple of things that she has been stubborn on and, to be fair, she’s probably right.”
The ease with which they work together may have been a foregone conclusion, but working together was never a given.
Mandy Farmer was told the business would not be handed over to her. Terry Farmer had been told the same thing by his father, a co-founder of Farmer Construction. Mandy had designs on following her interests in neuro-psychology at university. It was only when she couldn’t land a job after school that she came to Accent Inns looking for a start. She was hired to do sales and earned her stripes before her dad brought her back to the head office in Victoria.
Mandy admits to being a little surprised at where she has ended up and how she has managed to fuel her drive through work while finding balance in her life with husband Geoff Wong and children, Ginger, 8, and Oscar, 7.
She has kept a journal since she was in Grade 3. In it, there are several mentions of her mother suggesting Mandy didn’t know who she was and where she was going.
“It wasn’t until I started working at Accent Inns and really figuring out my passion for hotels and what I do here that I really finally feel like I do totally know who I am.
“I made the right decision. I’m so lucky I completely love my job and I work with amazing people I love to work with,” she said. “We have something special here.”
Frank Bourree, principal of Chemistry Consulting, has known Farmer for more than 20 years and believes she’s come into her own as the head of Accent Inns. “I have watched her grow up in the industry and she is the real deal,” he said. “She is sharp as a tack, bright, energetic, professional. I would have to say she has really grown into herself.”
Growth has come with increasing responsibility. Mandy Farmer said she may add to that, as Accent has eyes on expanding in B.C. and possibly Alberta.
There are currently five Accent Inns — two in Vancouver, one each in Victoria, Kamloops and Kelowna — and Hotel Zed across from Mayfair Shopping Centre.
Terry Farmer believes his daughter is the perfect person to guide that growth.
“She got her MBA at Royal Roads while she was working here and I could see her skills increase every week. She just got better and better,” he said. “The company is in great hands and the staff like her.”
Good relationships with employees were always important when Terry Farmer ran the show, and Mandy has continued that.
“There is caring there and it’s real,” said Accent Inns director of marketing John Espley.
“She travels around the properties and tries to get to know every employee she can.”
Espley, who has worked at Accent Inns for 26 years and briefly was Mandy’s boss when she worked at the front desk, said the chief executive has always maintained her down-to-Earth nature.
“At work, we’re down to business, but she is fun and what I really like is she’s not afraid to be unique and work with someone in their style,” Espley said, recalling an annual review Mandy conducted with him while hiking Mount Doug.
“She knows who you are as an employee and a lot of employers don’t go that far.”