Jameson Farn is Owner and Liaison Advisor at The Villa & Experience of The French Riviera.
He is originally from Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, but his heart is in one of the most beautiful places: ”Le Côte d’Azur”.
His way of working is an excellent combination of discretion and the best properties.
https://www.thevilla.life https://www.experiencethefrenchriviera.com
How do you arrive to it?
On my first trip to Europe in my early twenties, during my travels, I was visiting relatives in France who suggested as part of my trip they thought I might really enjoy the Cote d’Azur. Well the first day I got off the train in Nice I was in love. There was something both magical and mysterious during that first visit and I could not get enough of the region.
Every year after that I would make visits to the French Riviera and over time I got to meet more people and gained a better understanding of the lifestyle here, completely obsessed, my interests were peaked and it was all I could talk about when I would get back to North America.
This first passion bring you a profession. Can you tell us more about it?
So much did my passion for France show that I began being asked by family and friends (and their friends) what they should see and do when they go on vacation to this part of the world.
My love for the country quickly turned into a business so I could connect people like a liaison advisor on what they might like to see and do, where they should stay but overall I really wanted people to gain lifelong memories and experiences from their trip to France.
Being a big believer in the shared economy movement and thinking long term financially for local businesses, I began working with the people I knew who have a trusted, proven track record in their specialized services, and taking them on as legal business partners, and also building long lasting relationships direct with luxury villa and chalet owners and even some agencies for the benefit of both the clients and businesses.
You are working with other people and you offer some concierge services, isn’t it?
At this point we have about 50 business partners not only in France but from around the world. Beyond villa rentals, we can provide services for yacht sales and rentals, private car service, wedding and event planning, private charter jets, event and VIP tickets (Cannes Film Festival, Monaco Grand Prix), insurance and even close protection services.
How do you create “The Villa”?
What started almost nine years ago as a hobby has now turned into a very strong business network while living here in France. With work continually expanding and my main clientele base being from North America, we started being asked about other holiday destinations in various other parts of the world a couple of years ago.
So we got to it and started gathering information on places and people we already knew and have previously worked with and so I developed ‘The Villa’ in April of 2018. Now we are able to help with villa rentals and additional services throughout Europe, North America and even Africa with other locations coming on board weekly.
You have develop a very interesting business, but how has it evolved?
Another interesting aspect in how business has evolved is in the past two years villa owners and clients and corporations have come forward seeking our help in either selling their property off market or publicly whether it be a villa, hotel or land for development.
Since my clients have very specific detailed requests in what they are looking for in a property to buy, and loving a challenge, nothing boosts my adrenaline more than seeking out a new property that may be unique and not fully known to anyone else.
We currently have beautiful estates on the market, along with hotels, and even sections of islands to name a few.
For each client and owner, we first and foremost adhere to all privacy requests, something we take seriously and discretion is really what we are well known to be about. We also only work with a select group (if necessary) of real estate agencies who also respect a client’s wishes. With that being said, we do have something quite special in development for early 2020.
Which are the trends and the requirements in the luxury world?
With the luxury world consistently changing and requirements from clients looking for the best in villa rental and services for their vacation. We feel it’s important to be flexible with any trends and changes, adapt, evolve and move forward. Honesty is also huge for me, I observe a lot but am also very straightforward with clients. If something isn’t maybe going to work with them or their lifestyle and plans I let them know right away. It could be my Canadian background but I can’t try and sell something that won’t work sitting on my conscience. Life is too short to waste someone else’s time.
We also don’t just jump on board and promote on social media seasonally, we believe it’s important to promote an area or country year round, give people something to look forward and inspire them, showing them what a community may have to offer for their next holiday or business trip.
Overall what seems to make us stand out is showing the properties we have in our expansive portfolio but in the world of social media, we also highly respect a client’s privacy and confidentiality. You won’t see us promoting which celebrity or UHNWI has stayed at one of our property rentals, everyone deserves time to themselves. It’s that simple. We also believe in putting words into action behind everything we do.
