Rita J. Varga, CEO, RaizUp, Interviewed by Lan Elliott & Rachel Humphrey

Rita shares how her early exposure to travel, culture, and entrepreneurship led to a hospitality industry career spanning several different chapters. She talks about the importance of believing in self, owning your expertise, the impact of community, and why curiosity is a great motivator. Rita also encourages people to know you are enough and why she'd tell her younger self to be more in the moment. 

Transcript

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Rachel Humphrey 0:00

Am Rachel Humphrey with It's Personal Stories, a hospitality podcast. We are a non profit dedicated to empowering personal success in the hospitality industry. And I am really excited today to be joined by one of my fellow interview hosts, Lan Elliott of the podcast. And for those who follow along at home and have seen a lot of the shows, You might be wondering why the different and unique set up today with two interview hosts. And truth is, it's because we were fighting over who was going to interview our guest today, Rita Varga, the chief executive officer of Rise Up. So Lan, welcome. And Rita, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having

Rita Varga 0:40

me. I'm so excited about this.

Lan Elliott 0:42

Rachel said we were both very excited to have you on. One of the things we were saying is that it's always great to learn more of guests. And so I'd love to start with your journey to leadership because I happened to know you were born in Hungary. But you live in Berlin now and you had a very successful career in hospitality tech, which we'll talk about why that was such a good thing for Rachel and me in a bit. But could you perhaps share your journey and some of the inflection points along the way and if there was any particular factor or factors that contributed to your success?

Rita Varga 1:21

Yeah, absolutely. And again, I'm super excited and I'm also overwhelmed to have so much power in the room right now. And yeah as I was reflecting on my journey, which I do from time to time. I think I would start with, I'm always, I always say. I'm a born traveler. I was born in Hungary, which is an Eastern European country. I was born when we were coming out of communism. So my life didn't have those barriers that my parents had, and they wanted to make sure that I experience as much of the world as I can together with my brother, who is working with me actually side by side right now. And we basically just traveled a lot and these were my first memories and when you asked me at three years old, do you speak German? I was like, yes, of course I speak German. So I really just felt connection to different languages and different cultures at a very early age. Which again, my parents supported along the way. So by the time I finished high school, I spoke three languages fluently, which was German, English, and French, actually. So French was my second language after German. And then I learned English because just everyone speaks English. And I spent a school year in Germany. I spent a summer in France and I spent the summer in Malta. And that was when I was 17. And actually my dad is an entrepreneur. So all my life, what I've seen is. self foundation is, ownership. He had his office in our garden, so I saw the people coming and going and being included in the vision and working towards something bigger. And of course I had a very strong working mother as well. Who was always because she grew up in communism she never had the opportunity to study. So she basically when we came out of the communist era, she made all, courses, and she completed two degrees after that. So it's the combination of the constant learning as well as the entrepreneurship side that really fueled my journey. And by the age of 17, I actually applied for a job at the language school where I was studying English to work with them to lead their youth group. So I was 17 and I was leading youth groups of 12, 13, 15, 16 year olds. And I got accepted. That was a German company. And with them, I actually completed high school and two days after I was out working and and working at a language school that thought English to foreigners. So a big part of my journey was, again, more and more cultures. My flatmate from Korea, my flatmate from Italy there was such a broad spectrum of opportunities that influenced me in my journey. And I was like I have to do something in travel. I actually by that time started studying which was called international relation because basically with all the languages I had, the only career path that I saw for myself as to make a living I wanted to become an interpreter. So that's where it all came from, and so I was going to be politically engaged in interpretation, but then, of course, life came, and through the opportunity that I had in the UK, I actually moved straight to Barcelona, to Spain, to work at the language school there. I ended up organizing everything, taking ownership of everything besides the studies, because by that time I didn't speak Spanish. And I also, again, took it as an opportunity of learning because basically I acted as I spoke Spanish. And then I was just trying my luck until it actually worked out. So that was that. And then I, and I found my, my, my journey very organic, my growth, very organic. Again, there is from time to time, there are external influence or there have been external influences in my life where I'm saying. Oh, I completed my degree now. I also did a master's in commercial and marketing leadership and the only, again, viable path for the future is finance. So I went and worked for a while at a larger clothing company actually based in in Spain called Mungo. And I was in charge of doing all the financial planning for all the clothing stores across, across eight countries, including the U S as well as Mungo online. But then literally one day I stood up and said, I had enough and two hours later I was out because that was a big responsibility at a very early age. And also I found You know, there was this typical room, a large room with no barriers of 200 people in a chunk. And because it was a clothing line, I was purely the only one who didn't wear the clothes of the company. So I stood out there as well and I felt odd. And I wasn't bullied. I wouldn't say I was bullied, but I stood out and I again realized I need to do something about me standing out. What does drive me to stand out from the crowd? And again, journey has it. I started to work with an OTA. And so it's an online travel agency. I worked in e commerce. I was fairly successful because I have no shame and all the languages. It's very, it's all about establishing connections. with other humans, whether that's purely hospitality on the property or establishing even a phone connection. I think what excites me the most up to date is having that special connection with every single individual that I'm talking to.

Rachel Humphrey 7:57

I have a question actually before you go. So when you talk about the OTAs, what stage in kind of the OTA evolution are you talking about now?

Rita Varga 8:09

So that was we are talking 2011, 2012. So there was already the wave of Booking. com and, but there wasn't, for example, the wave of Expedia. In Europe so there was booking. com and there was everyone else but I actually left out from my journey and let me point it out because I love that. Before I actually went abroad, I was 16 with my first job where I worked at a couple of hotel chains and my job was taking the train at the main train station in Budapest. Going to the borders, taking the train back. And back then there were no OTAs. So I was basically selling accommodation to tourists as they were coming in by train. Making a commission from 12 to 20 percent per night. ADR was extremely high. There was not much competition, not much development on the market. So I was really successful with it. I had some Japanese lessons when I was six. So I was, I used my singing skills and everything just to connect with the people. And and yeah, so I worked in an era where we're no OTAs. And now I found myself working at, with an OTA but it was just right at when Booking. com really became Booking. com.

Rachel Humphrey 9:35

That's incredible. And I know Lan's going to ask you some about what you're currently doing. I was going to ask you about this theme that we hear from a lot of our leaders about curiosity, but I think you've covered so much of that by talking about how each. step helped you further evolve at this stage in your career where you are a ceo, where you're very highly regarded. You have incredible connections. What do you do to keep evolving now? And why do you, I know you lead a lot of programs that help others invest in their own growth. Why is that so important both for you to offer that, but for others to make sure they're investing in their own growth?

Rita Varga 10:13

I think you always have to carry a growth mindset because at every stage there is some learning to do. And, I was talking about my journey now, but it wasn't necessarily how I lived it when I lived it. When you are in the moment, you don't leave it. It I, some of the things I took for granted. But some of the things I clearly fall for and, understanding the industry, understanding how markets work that's purely out of curiosity. Nobody asked me to do that. My job wasn't literally that, but I made sure that I go out of my way. To understand how the industry works how things work. I have an area that I managed how things work in other areas as well in general. And I think I really carry that mindset on, for example, every single topic. I cannot just, I cannot just do things on the surface. I need to get deep and I need to dive deep into things to to really understand them. And I think this is something that is. It's super exciting. It's also exciting whenever I ask my team, what would you like to learn next? And then there are the most creative things coming out of it because they are interested in doing things. But some of them, nobody ever asked them, nobody ever asked them, what would you like to learn? What would you like to do next? And I know we are going to talk about people who have influenced. But I had a very particular mentor and I worked in, in, in technology sales for the past 14 years. My mentor was investing actively in me, in learning about solution selling, in learning about different methodologies which sometimes a lot of employers don't really do, and I tend to carry it with myself, but also enabling others to have the opportunity to learn.

Rachel Humphrey 12:19

I really loved what you said about growth being a reflection mindset as well, because as we look back, we can see how we've continued to evolve and certainly about making sure that you're investing in your team by asking and including. It's a very intentional process to provide those opportunities and the fact that someone provided it to you and you've made sure to continue to pay that forward. But I appreciate your sharing that.

Lan Elliott 12:46

Thank you. I love you asking your team about what would you like to learn next? Because I don't remember hardly anyone asking me that throughout my career. I remember graduating from school and thinking, Oh, I'm done with my learning now. Now I do my work. And it is such an important thing to have a growth mindset, as you mentioned. Along the lines of a growth mindset, I think the three of us have had an opportunity to collaborate on a project that required a lot of growth mindset as we discovered new grounds. So we've been collaborating on a project as part of Rachel's Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance. And Rita, in terms of non profit work, that's a non profit. Organization or and you've also founded and you lead rise up, which is another area where you are giving back. Can you share why you started? Rise up some of the lessons you've learned and one initiative that has you very excited.

Rita Varga 13:55

Yeah, absolutely. And I would just add one thing to education and learning. Learning is not a degree. Learning is not a masters. It's not a postgraduate. It's not a long course. It's something that you are particularly interested in and you want to learn more about it. So it's, you don't have to. Go all the way and do a long term thing. It's something that is niche now yes, we didn't start as Rise Up, we started as Women in Hospitality and Travel Tech, that was 2019. And this is where the non profit was born, very organically. The main challenge, or the main challenges I had personally back in the day I was always the youngest one in all the teams that I've joined, and I've always been pretty much the only female. In the team that I've joined and I found myself in a situation, I was pregnant and I was pregnant with a little girl. So I, of course, where do I turn when all your colleagues are male, they cannot experience the same things as you do. So I was just seeking community. I was seeking, okay, so how much am I integrated into this male led culture that we live in, and how do I make sure, A, that women connect on different levels, and I'm not talking about parenthood solely, but there are some common challenges that women face at the workplace, such as counting on four different roles being, being involved in conversation, having a seat at the table, et cetera, et cetera. So I, I really was looking for advice for myself. But also, very much caring, if I can change something that someone else doesn't have to encounter the same challenges, that's already a win. And I'm not even talking now, I have two little girls. I was clearly thinking about when they enter work, and when they start their lives as adults, how they're going to be perceived, and how they are going to perceive. life as such. So this is how it all started. We were pretty much working towards at the beginning educating women within the hospitality as well as the hotel technology space to be able To have more space on the top and that was approaching individuals on working on their soft skills, launching mentoring programs doing a little bit of recruitment. We had the first version of our speaking or speakers database that, there were a lot of ideas going around how we can actually make an impact. But a couple of years in, and this is coming out of COVID, workplace shifted a lot. Geography shifted a lot. And I really came to the conclusion, it is great to develop people, but if the organizations don't actually have a buy into it, you can do whatever you want with the talent. the gap will never be closed. So this is where the rise up shift happened on one side, working also with businesses, how to be more inclusive, how to think about equity, how to think about DEI in the sense that it makes sense for their organizations from an internal and external point of view. And the other thing is that We wanted to make sure that it's not quote unquote taking in consideration from a gender perspective. We are talking a lot about generations as well in our chats races, cultures. There are so many factors that play into the whole person and we wanted to be part of the equity. And not the equality only.

Rachel Humphrey 18:16

It's so incredible to hear you talk about how now the entrepreneurial environment that you actually grew up in plays such an influential role, as does the culture. So you've really combined. All of these pieces of your puzzle that you were putting together during your growth as a child into the current work. And I love you talking about being driven by community and by your daughters, because, I also have two daughters and the Alliance is really born out of finding a sense of community and realizing that it isn't just. The women who need to be motivated or empowered to change, but it needs to be the businesses too. So what an incredible evolution for you. Rita, you mentioned the word challenges earlier when you were thinking about your role in tech at the time. And somebody asked me last week about. One of the bigger challenges that I have overcome or that I face in my career path. And I said that honestly, it was actually me that sometimes I have my own insecurities, my own self doubts, and they can be louder and stronger and way more impactful than my entire cheerleading and board of directors team around me. I'm wondering for you. As you sit here, you're so confident and wise and you're noticing all these things and then making the changes. Do you, have the moments where you have a lot of self doubt? And if you do, what would you advise someone else who might be struggling to overcome some of those narratives in their head?

Rita Varga 19:50

Yeah thank you so much for raising that. And thank you so much also for sharing because it's comforting. But I used to say I'm drowning in my own perfection. I wanted to do everything perfectly by the book. And yet I always came back to the same challenges in life. And that's where you realize it's in you. It's in you. So by starting to believe in myself and shutting down all the voices. That came from different influences that paid, played a major role in getting where I am and also to continue the journey. I had a full blown meltdown this morning. So it's not that, so it's not that I don't have my moments of self doubt. I actually did ask the question from my colleague, when is it going to be enough? When am I going to be enough? That was the question that I raised this morning, but I am actually enough and I'm actually valid. And it's not a numbers game I gave because I'm driving community. And I used to be driven by, oh, how many people there are in the community and how many people we have. In, in different pipes and groups and all these things, and even LinkedIn, how many impressions you have, it doesn't matter. What matters is you changed and you managed to make an impact on one single person. And that's where I'm. I'm absolutely like the Phoebe effect from friends. The self did that's where I get my kick from. If there is one person who got, for example, something of our conversation today, and they look at things from a different perspective. Already did well done.

Lan Elliott 21:56

Thank you. That is a wonderful way to approach it and to think about it. So thank you for sharing that. I wanted to switch over to public speaking because Rita, you volunteered to power the alliances speaker directory, which is a first of its kind resource that we hope will impact the hospitality industry forever. Could you speak a little bit about the importance of public speaking and elevating one's career and how do you go about developing it? How do you prepare? Do you feel more confident? And what would you tell others who fear public speaking? I think they're not ready.

Rita Varga 22:41

We spoke about vulnerability and share as much as you can at the beginning of the conversation. In 2012, I was at a conference that was the first time that I was in a room with 300 people and I had to present. I couldn't breathe. I was sweating. I had to leave the room and, again just let it go because it was better not to continue. So I was very nervous about approaching public speaking as such. But again, this is something, believing in myself. And owning up to my expertise and what I know. And people turn to me quite often to to ask how I go about public speaking. And it's only the chip in my head that had to turn that I have actually something valid to say. I actually know what I'm talking about. And if you don't know what you are talking about prepare. Mentally, even if it's going to be something half spontaneous, by knowing what you want to talk about and prepare some key points that you want to talk about, that helps an awful lot. People sometimes don't even notice that I'm nervous. And we literally started this conversation by saying, I'm so excited. Just by saying, I am so excited in terms of, Oh my God, I'm so scared of this conversation. That, that just sets up the tone and sets up your confidence. Now I had a lot of support when I actually decided to proactively approach public speaking because I knew it's not, I don't only want to be behind the scenes. behind calls like this. I also want to be in the forefront. I also want to be on panels because and at some point you do become a role model for people. So I worked with this lovely speaking coach called Kim a page. In 2020, where we were addressing different things on tonality. I'm very self conscious. Of course, I'm Hungarian, now talking to two lovely American women about my accent, about my grammar. Just letting it go. And focus and being in the moment and because for example, panels are not always gender inclusive and you put three male speakers and the female speaker and the female speaker is coming, Oh my God, what am I going to say? I'm like, listen, have you listened to this guy? Do you know what he's going to talk about? Yeah. He has been saying the same thing for the past 20 years. So do you think you can add to the conversation? Definitely. Because you bring in a new perspective and you have to build on the new perspective. And that's it.

Rachel Humphrey 25:40

That's it. That's all the secrets, according to Rita. I loved when you started off talking about owning your expertise, cause that's such an important part. You know what you're talking about and you're there because someone invited you because they thought you had value to add. And so once you recognize that you have value, but also, That same theme again, the intentionality, the practice, the hiring a coach, the investing in yourself, the being curious. Like you have such a thread that you have woven through so many different things. And I feel like as the founder of the Alliance, I just teed you up to say all of the things about panels and representation and different perspectives and voices. But that's such, that is quite frankly, what brought the three of us together is we know There's all these incredible voices and perspectives that aren't being heard in the way to showcase all of those. And what you have just said you said that's it in a way that made it sound simple. It's such a critically important piece of not only our growth puzzle, but of so much insight that you have to share.

Rita Varga 26:44

Listen, there is a study, I'm sure you saw it somewhere, it's called the Redman Study. The Redman Study says when women are speaking and they engage in self promotion, it's perceived with negativity, and in general, 50%, both by women, both by men. in a negative way than an actual man would be speaking and engaging in self promotion. But I think through our project and increasing the number of female speakers on stage or in just engaging in public speaking. It can become normality and it can change the mindset slowly, but surely, and it is a progress. So it, that's it from our own perspective, but we have a lot of work to do in general, not only in our industry, in general, in terms of getting women. Into the front line. I'm speaking. Absolutely.

Rachel Humphrey 27:48

I know that we are running short on time because we could talk to you and I could speak with you all day long and never run out of time. We're going to wrap up maybe with two quick fires here at the end. And maybe we'll have to do Rita 2. 0 at some point to cover all of the other things we want to talk about. One of our favorite questions that land and I especially love, but that we focus on with its personal stories is advice to your younger self. And you talk so much about how reflection has been an important part of your journey. But as you look back to 17 year old Rita and that first role you were talking about and everything else, knowing what you know now, knowing how things turn out, what would you tell 17 year old Rita? Take it easy. Enjoy,

Rita Varga 28:38

because I lived so much in the moment I, at some point I only saw barriers instead of doors. And I think now I can reflect and say, Oh, these are, these have all been doors, but I've been looking at it in the wrong way which, which led to where I am now, because I'm the kind of person you close the door. I'm bloody getting, something and knock it open. But, I wish I was a little bit calmer and just enjoying the ride and enjoying the moment instead of constantly thinking what's next.

Lan Elliott 29:17

I love the idea of. The mindset that challenges and barriers are really an opportunity to find the door and to move through them and move past them. And I think you've done that so brilliantly throughout your career and also brilliantly in the time we've worked together with you. So we're coming to the end and Rita, keeping in mind that the mission of its personal stories is around empowering personal success. Is there one final nugget of advice you'd like to offer our audience?

Rita Varga 29:49

We've been talking a lot, I think, about self confidence, and, whoever is watching, everybody deals with self confidence issues, and I always say you are enough. You are valid, you are seen, whatever goes on behind closed doors, others don't see it. So just shut everything out and reflect on yourself in a very positive way.

Rachel Humphrey 30:19

I love the message of wrapping up with self confidence. That's really a perfect way to end. Rita, thank you so much for joining us. And Lan, so happy to share an interview with you. We may have to do this a few more times, but I will turn it over to you to wrap us up.

Lan Elliott 30:39

Thank you. It's been wonderful to be with both of you. For our audience, I hope you've enjoyed this interview with Rita. If you'd like to find more interviews with hospitality leaders that are inspiring like this one, I hope you'll go to our website. It's personal stories. com. Thank you.

Rachel Humphrey 30:59

Thanks Rita. Thanks to both. It's been a blessing. Thank you.

Lan Elliott 31:03

Thank

Rachel Humphrey 31:03

you.