Quest Springfield Central Business Owner, Luke Frederick, shares an insight into his exciting career journey – from horticulture to hotels.
How did you first get into hospitality?
I actually stumbled into it! I used to be in a completely different industry – horticulture. I loved it, but after a while it got a bit routine, and I hit a point where I just wanted some adventure. I decided on an overseas hiatus, so I moved to Canada for the best part of a year, and I took a job as a hotel bellman in Banff. After falling into it, I realised I kind of had a knack for it. I got a promotion while I was over there and became the concierge supervisor. I like making people happy and doing what I can to improve their day.
How did that experience in Canada evolve into a career with Quest?
Ironically enough, when I came back to Australia, I couldn’t get a job! I ended up starting a university degree – a Bachelor of Business with hospitality management. By this point I was with my wife, Alana, and we’d worked in hospitality jobs both in Victoria and then back in Queensland. I stumbled across an opportunity at Quest Ipswich, where they were looking for a front office team leader, so I applied and got offered that job. That was at the end of 2016, and 18 months later, they sold the business to the current franchisees, Adam and Allison French, who kept me on.
Adam and Allison went from your bosses to your business partners – how did that come about?
We worked together for about seven years, and they became my mentors. They passed down so much knowledge in that time, so that when the opportunity to buy into Quest Springfield came on the cards, there was no one else I would have wanted to partner with. In February of this year, we began a joint venture as the co-owners of Quest Springfield Central. They help me with the strategic direction of the business, and they’re a good solid wall to bounce ideas off. They keep me in line with big expenses and where my budget should be, but otherwise, I’m the onsite property manager with skin in the game and loving every bit of it.
What was it that made you feel ‘ready’ to take the leap into business ownership with Quest?
In 2019, I went through the Quest Accelerator program. It is a professional development program for high performing team members who have aspirations to become a Quest Franchisee. I found it so beneficial to spend a bit of time in head office and get to know the leadership team. That was a real turning point for me – I already loved the brand, but I felt like I really understood what being a Quest Franchise Business Owner was all about after that Accelerator Program. At the beginning of 2023 – after starting our family and after the pandemic – Alana and I had a conversation with Adam and Allison and said: ‘we are all in’. And then that’s where Springfield came into the picture.
You won the Quest Salesperson of the Year Award last year!
I did! I’d made it a goal at the beginning of 2023 to strive for a few career goals, but I am shocking at sales. I’m timid and I hate making cold calls, and I just ripped in. It sounds very cliche, but I followed the Quest model of what you’re supposed to do. I did all this stuff on Salesforce, and I did my follow-up calls and managed to bring home the win. For me, that was huge, because you could throw a dart in a room full of people and hit a better salesperson than me, so to have put in all that work and come away with that award last year was pretty special.
What is it about the Quest model that made you so confident to leap in?
Two things. The first is the way other members in the network share their expertise so willingly; and the way it’s set up so that you can partner with people you’ve built business relationships with over years – it feels so protective. Adam and Allison are the perfect guides for us – I couldn’t imagine partnering with anyone else, and particularly the way they’ve helped me learn through my mistakes over the years has just been formative.
The second thing is that the Quest brand just makes a lot of sense – everything from the top down is aimed at helping you succeed, then encouraging you to find new ways to improve on that, too.
Ready to start your journey as a Business Owner at Quest Apartment Hotels? Find out more here.