Accent Inns and Hotel Zed CEO Mandy Farmer Wins Prestigious Award
Accent Inns and Hotel Zed CEO, Mandy Farmer, Wins 2020 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Excellence Award — The award recognizes the extraordinary work done to provide for her community and employees during COVID-19.
Victoria, BC (November 23, 2020) – Accent Inns and Hotel Zed are proud to announce that at last night’s RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Virtual Awards Gala, CEO Mandy Farmer was awarded the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Excellence Award.
For 28 years the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards has been the premier national awards program celebrating the achievements of the most successful and impactful women who have demonstrated excellence across multiple sectors. This year there were 8,600 nominations across the country. Farmer’s win speaks to her unwavering commitment to her community, employees and business during what has been a difficult year for many.
“For me, this award reflects the work of my whole team who have been heroes during this pandemic,” said Mandy Farmer, CEO of Accent Inns and Hotel Zed. “They service cancer patients who stay with us, frontline service workers that need to self-isolate away from their families and essential workers that need to travel to work on important projects around the province. I am so proud of them.”
Farmer’s approach to an award-winning business starts with her employees. In a recent employee survey that saw participation from 93 percent of staff, 98 percent of employees said they were happy or extremely happy in their jobs. Farmer’s approach, however, isn’t just about company culture, it’s about truly caring for her employees.
When COVID-19 hit, Farmer sent $250 grocery gift certificates to all her employees – including employees that were temporarily laid off – because she didn’t want anyone to worry about how they were going to put food on their table during a global pandemic.
Showing that happy employees make for a successful business, Farmer’s businesses consistently outperform their competitors and they have more than doubled profits in the past five years, with a 52 percent increase in revenue.
However, Farmer’s work extends beyond just her businesses, as she is also instrumental in helping local communities.
When COVID-19 hit, all Accent Inns hotels across BC kept their doors open to health care staff and essential workers. Additionally, they partnered with United Way to create the Hotels for Frontline Workers Fund that allowed donors to help cover the costs of accommodations for essential service workers. This allowed frontline workers to have a safe and comfortable place to stay without the worry of covering large costs.
You can find out more information about the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards at womenofinfluence.ca.
Recognized by the BC Hotel Association with numerous awards for its stellar track record for housekeeping and service, Accent Inns has five locations in Victoria, Vancouver Airport (Richmond), Burnaby, Kelowna, and Kamloops. Hotel Zed operates in Victoria, Kelowna and Tofino, B.C.
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