It's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast

Zack Gharib, President, Red Roof Interviewed by Rachel Humphrey

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Zack discusses his journey from growing up in Lebanon to being the new President of Red Roof with various stops in between. He shares his personal mantra of 'people first' and his advice to his younger self to "trust in your path." Zack also talks about taking risks, curiosity, leadership, and the importance of attending industry conferences.

Rachel Humphrey:

I am Rachel Humphrey with It's Personal Stories and I am delighted to welcome to the show today Zach Gareed, the president of Red Roof. Zach, welcome to the program.

Zack Gharib:

Thank you so much, Rachel. I'm excited to be with you here and looking forward to our conversation.

Rachel Humphrey:

Before we jump into journey to leadership, which is usually where we get started. I wanted to share with our audience. I normally share why I've asked someone to join us today. You and I have not actually met before, which is very unusual for me for the podcast. So I'm extremely excited to get to know you along with all of our listeners, as you share. your journey now to the incredible team over at Red Roof. So let's jump right in. Tell us a little bit about who you are, your path here, and if there were any pivotal moments along the way that you think have really shaped your career trajectory.

Zack Gharib:

Yes. Thank you. Thank you for the question, Rachel. I mean, when you think looking back on when I was a kid, I was born in Lebanon, the country. And as I grew up, I always had aspirations to be somewhere in the service industry. And then I took a trip to to Greece, actually, to Athens on my college basketball team. And then just the hotel setting, the environment speaking with the hotel general manager and the staff throughout those few days really changed my life. It's, it was my first my first hotel stay ever. And it really, I could see myself being in the hotel industry. And growing there. So that really changed the trajectory of my life. I decided I did my business degree in at the Lebanese American University. I did my bachelor's there, and I decided to come to my master's here in the U. S. Because this is the greatest programs, the greatest country. And I came here and did my master's in hospitality. And from there, I was recruiting by white lodging services, which was amazing. Actually, out of my out of college to go into white lodging, they had a great foundation of leadership and management and really set my career on the rights on the right putting. And I think, from there I went to Marriott and La Quinta by Wyndham. I joined companies like Bay Casa and Highgate. And here I am today at the helm of Red Roof, which is amazing. It's a journey that took me a I'm very proud of and Red Roof is an iconic brand, 51 Rich history, 51 year rich history. So I could not be more proud and happier to be here today.

Rachel Humphrey:

You know what I really love about that is how inspirational the trip internationally to a hotel property had on your career trajectory. And it's such a great reminder for all of us how. being in our industry can really change lives. So I appreciate your sharing that very much. I want to turn over to public speaking because as the leader of an international brand, you will have many panels, podcast opportunities, trade media, and public speaking. We hear from a lot of people can be one of the biggest hurdles or fears that they have as their careers. Talk a little bit about yo public speaking. Are you Has that changed over tim secrets of preparation?

Zack Gharib:

I but I can tell you th from many mentors through is a key and obviously re to me and it helped me al I think understanding the topic you're speaking abo that knowledge and inform that you're comfortable with in sharing. I think that helps you prepare better. I think when I look at specifically right now at Red Roof, I really have a great team that has been here for a long time. They're very, they're experts in their, in everything they do and their departments and their topics and in what we're trying to accomplish. So having these conversations along with different experts And industry leaders really prepare the knowledge and gives me the knowledge information to go out there and comfortably share it with whoever I'm speaking to, whether it's my team, whether it's on a panel was it a conference? And so I can tell you, I don't like to wing it. It's just not, it's not in my, it's not in my blood. Some people can. I just like to be prepared. And I think when you look at it, preparation comes in different degrees. But my constant belief is I want to be prepared to really outline the best message I can. And I'm trying to deliver,

Rachel Humphrey:

We hear that so often from people how important preparation is no matter what level you achieve in the industry, remaining prepared when you have those opportunities to speak. And quite frankly, like you said, relying on experts around you to provide you with the information that will be helpful in sharing. You talked early in your journey to leadership about making some transitions from company to company. You also talked about relocating. To the United States for your educational pursuits. Those two, some would be considered taking big risks. Do you consider yourself a risk taker? And how do you evaluate what risks make sense for you and which ones you might pass on? You

Zack Gharib:

know, I think Rachel we've all heard no risk, no reward so really I truly believe there's no gross. in business or personal life without taking some risk. Obviously, calculated risk is the goal. You don't want to take something completely not, out of this world. But I think, in a sense, not taking risk by itself is a risky proposition. So I would have to say even when I look at my journey, Taking, coming to the us, leaving my family, leaving my home country really coming to a new environment a new a new world that I, I wasn't really in tune with. That by itself is a risk in my life that I took, I think. Right now, I would consider it the biggest risk in my life, but it has been very fruitful. Like I said, with risk comes reward. I think at the end of the day, if you have strong friends, strong mentors, strong advisors, That can really assess also the risk with you because you can't just take risk on a, on your own, especially when it comes to something that's going to impact a lot of people around you whether it's team members, franchisees, guests, partners, all that sense, I think that risk has to be somewhat calculated I urge my team every day is, Take some risk and let's go out there and see, because that's curiosity. If you want to be curious, if you want to innovate, you have to take risk. And let's do that. But I think the more you speak with other advisors and people around you it can be a more rewarding in that sense.

Rachel Humphrey:

I love the concept of taking calculated risk, but also in relying on the people around you as a support system. I want to touch on curiosity in a minute. But before I do, I want to talk a little bit about building relationships and networking. You've worked for several incredible companies. You have a great team there alongside you. You talked about how you are reliant upon people, whether it's to help you in preparing to speak publicly or in deciding on risks. But we all build our networks and our relationships differently, which is one of the things I really love. It can be very tailored to your own personality. So talk a little bit about your strategy for building relationships and networking and maybe anything that's more specific to your personality than maybe some others.

Zack Gharib:

Absolutely. When you look at networks, the really living, breathing ecosystems. Full of variation opportunities for growth, especially in our hotel industry. Networking is a key. We've got a lot of great industry leaders. A lot of, especially like when you go to conferences or conventions, the brain power and the experience and a lot of these settings. It's just tremendous, right? And we are all in certain stages in our careers and our lives. And so we all have role models and mentors and people we look up to and respect. So listening to these individuals, having these conversations with them, networking can be fruitful on so many different levels, not only on personal growth and career growth, but also on taking ideas and really initiate and implementing initiatives in your. In your own way, whether it was your teams or with your partners that can be fruitful in so many different aspect. I can't tell you how many people I've met along the way, whether it's through my franchise career, whether it's owners and franchisees or other industry icons and experts that have given me tremendous strength and knowledge. To keep, going forward and be the best I can be. And when you look at the most essential qualities of growing and cultivating a broad network you gotta be, open to new ideas which I spoke about earlier and then, have empathy. So going out there and networking with different people I think it's critical in industry and beyond for personal and career growth.

Rachel Humphrey:

Yeah, I really, the concept of how much in the hospitality industry we can benefit from attending conferences, not just on the educational front, but like you said, building those relationships. I think it's an industry that's very special in the sense that we can learn so much from each other. There's so much support. And then learning from others, whether it be as you mentioned, franchisees or owners or whether it be from other people at other companies. And that's something I think that isn't necessarily unique to hospitality, but it's very special within the industry. Without a

Zack Gharib:

doubt. Without a doubt. We've got great networks as well. That's one thing about our industry really is people come and they stay. And throughout of it, it's it's it's just small world in a way.

Rachel Humphrey:

Very true. Very true. We hear that all the time. Big industry, but a small world within the industry. You mentioned curiosity, and I'm so glad that you did because one of the themes that we hear from so many of. The industry leaders that we've interviewed is this recurring thread of they felt like they were very curious people and that really helped to accelerate their career in a lot of different ways. Do you consider yourself to be curious? And then I want to ask you as a kind of a second part of that is tell me something hospitality or not that you're curious about right now.

Zack Gharib:

Yes, I've always heard, we've always heard necessity is the mother of opportunity. Of invention. And to me, I look at curiosity as the mother of innovation. And really, how do you continue finding new ways to be a better person to deliver better results to create, stronger relationships that I think it all comes from curiosity. When you think of travel itself, the whole concept of travel, You're curious about, the experience you're going to have when you go somewhere, how it's going to make you feel and who you're going to meet and how's the setting in that country or that destination. So that all stems from curiosity and for me personally, coming to the U. S. I was extremely curious about how will that impact my life? I had a really good life there, but it's like that curiosity led me to take that big risk and big leap in my life that has led me to today being at the home of Red Roof, which is an amazing accomplishment by itself. I think when I look at what I'm curious about today, Is I'm curious, I've been at Red Roof for five months and I've met my, my team and the leaders and I've got to know how passionate and strong and really how amazing people that, how amazing they are as leaders and people. And I'm curious now. How can we really take that and serve our franchisees in the best way we can. I think we're working really hard behind the scenes on making sure we have that platform and we have all that geared up, Red Roof has done a great job already with that anyways, but it's I think there will be some new things that we're implementing and I'm curious to see how I was going to pan out what our franchisees will think about it. And how it's going to take our company forward, because when you think about it, we want the guest experience to be better and memorable. And so all that curiosity ties in, into delivering those experiences at the end.

Rachel Humphrey:

And as you mentioned, the curiosity of travel, what's it going to be like when you get there, how's it going to experience and then being. with a company where you're able to provide those answers or that experience or that opportunity for those guests and for those travelers. I love that you're curious about how that will play out for you and I will check back in at some point to find out for sure how it went. I want to pivot and talk about leadership specifically for a couple of minutes. We hear some leaders say they feel like they were born to lead literally. We hear others say people call me a leader, and I still don't know that I would identify myself that way today. How do you What are your thoughts on maybe some of your goals of leadership? I know you mentioned that you had a goal of wanting to be within the industry. But now, as the president of Red Roof, having that type of top leadership role, and do you think that perspective has changed? Or was there a pivotal moment in your career that you were like I that I am a leader now.

Zack Gharib:

I think I remember back in 2008 I was a GM at La Quinta and when you were starting your career, you become a GM really, you feel very good already. That's and I remember we were rolling out our new PMS system at La Quinta and I was team lead of the rollout from a training perspective and such. And then after it, you, a few training sessions with our franchisees. Our owners at that time our vice president of, uh, of franchise operations, Jeff Bala, which I didn't know very well at that time. I was on the corporate side. He approached me and he said, Hey. I'm hearing from a lot of our owners and franchisees, franchise GMs, that they're really enjoying the way you're delivering the message and you're making them feel while they're here going through this training. It's a tough time to go through a converting and I want you to consider maybe coming on the franchise side and becoming a franchise operations director. At that time, I think that was a pivotal time in my thinking of leadership. Is I was thinking of leadership as in a one box hotel general manager, which is great in so many different ways, obviously, but that really changed my mindset into becoming a leader of a business of a franchise business of a franchise group of going out there and supporting. Many hotels in achieving success on so many different ways. So I think that was a pivotal moment of meet seeing leadership in a different way. And from there, really, I worked with Rajiv Trivedi. It was executive, vice president of our franchise operations at time. It's just That was by itself a journey. I learned a lot from him. I learned that, relationship goes a long way and, but at the same time, laser focus on results. And so that was, that played a big role in, in my leadership skills. And he instilled in me a desire to always strive for higher aspirations. And from there, it's just, it was natural. I've always. Put my head down work, worked hard work was integrity was fashion and, everything else it takes care of itself. And so that's really that was my trajectory of my leadership. And here I am today. Very humbled to be president of Red Roof. And hopefully I can help a lot more people become leaders as well. And

Rachel Humphrey:

I love that story. Zach so much for a couple of reasons. I love the Rise to the GM role, which you write is an absolute leadership role within the industry, but then somebody else seeing in you opportunity to take you in a different direction, you being willing to accept that risk and transitioning over to operations and then continuing to grow through that. And I will tell anyone who's listening. If you don't know Raj Trivedi, I interviewed him for the podcast. So you can head on over to. The website and check that out for sure. But I did want to also follow up on a couple of things you said there. So when you are transitioning from the role of GM into now an operations role, or when you're going from one company to another company, oftentimes we identify skills that we didn't know we needed. to be successful in our new role. But then we've got to set out to develop them, sometimes with the help of our company, sometimes on our own. Did you experience that along the way in any of your transitions? And what were the skills and how did you set out to develop them?

Zack Gharib:

Absolutely. That actually is That time by itself was a also a key moment of, knowing that skills go beyond operations because we were changing PMS systems. And obviously I, I was doing job aids and training and helping and all that aspect from the people and the training and the operations aspect of it. But I had always been curious and inquisitive about the behind the scenes technology aspect of it. How as a leader, How do you make sure that you get, your arms and your full understanding about the technology go behind the scenes, not only in, in property management system integrations, but all system integrations that happens in the, in hotels. So that, that was always a skill I wanted to learn or have more knowledge and ironically, when I joined Red Roof. The company was going through a full rollout of our PMS system, also our website. So it came like full circle years after and and this time, I had a front, front row seat. of seeing the A to Z process of how the whole thing works. And obviously, given my, my input so we can all, we can make sure the process goes even smoother and better. But that was really the one thing I've always wanted to learn as a leader in the hospitality. I attended a seminar. About a I in regards to the employee experience and the customer experience a few weeks ago, and it's just eye opening to see all that technology behind the scenes that can help us as leaders really continue driving better support and better experience for our guests and our employees. And, also our partners and franchisees as well.

Rachel Humphrey:

I hadn't really thought about it, but I'm guessing from here forward, most of the interviews that I do in terms of developing new skills, AI will definitely probably be at the top of everybody's list. You talk about the implementation and rollout of the new PMS system at La Quinta. That's obviously something that was a great success for you and then led you to new opportunities. But as leaders, oftentimes we learn more from some of the challenges we experienced, some of our failures than we do from our successes. Can you think of any example of something maybe that didn't go how you hoped or how you thought that it might? And the lessons that you learned from that?

Zack Gharib:

That's a great question, Rachel. I can tell you that, with challenges and obstacles, always better To be prepared, but that's unfortunately that's not always the case, so I don't really have a specific example that comes to my mind right now, but I can, but my approach to this when obstacles and challenges come is, you know, let's sit down and get, get the experts in the organization, maybe outside experts, I'm always open to advice. I'm always listening to you. the best ways to overcome outcomes. Obviously, when you've got the best minds in the room trying to tackle an obstacle is always better than one person trying to figure it out on their own, especially when it impacts so many different different aspects of the operation or the organization. So my approach to this has always been. Let's get the right people in the room. Let's take a systematic approach by finding out what's the challenge is, what can we do about it? What's the action plan, the timelines and really overcome that obstacle that way I can tell you from a personal perspective, for example, for a long time, I really had was died to staying in Austin for family reasons. My kids were We're growing up. They were in school. So it helped me really spend a lot more time with them on a personal level and be there for them as they're growing and shaping up their who they're gonna be in the future. So that was really an amazing thing. But it was an obstacle for my career, which ended up being well already because I had to pass on so many opportunities because I didn't want to relocate. It was not relocatable. And I think obstacles and challenges can come in different ways. But it's really about what is the best thing you do at that time to make the best of it. And so while that to some people may be an obstacle for career growth, it was an amazing thing for my personal life and for being for being there, for my kids on a personal level. So Everybody has different challenges and obstacles and it's just really how you look at it and and and approach it was a different advice again of the experts and the people you trust.

Rachel Humphrey:

I love the collaborative approach to overcoming challenges in the corporate setting, but really thinking about that there are obstacles that in the end may be gifts to you. So like you said, getting to spend time with your family. And let's talk about that for a couple of minutes because in the past, I think. Because of societal pressures or other things, we tended to only ask women about work life harmony or work life balance. And I'm realizing that, we all have things outside of a career, whether that is a family or hobbies or responsibilities with parents or other things. Talk a little bit about how you find that harmony for yourself and how has that changed over time?

Zack Gharib:

As as a leader, I believe in life work balance tremendously, especially for the team members. When you look at it's, obviously, as a red roof, we give, PTO, we have, schedules that can be adjusted as needed based on, Our team members demands, the eight to five mentalities, you can only get things done between eight to five, it's not always so as long as you're being productive, you're getting your stuff done within your flexible time that, that fits, your needs because people have families, they have, whether you're taking care of your small children or you have a sick parent or whatever it is, it's important to get to have that life work balance at the same time. As a leader, it's personally, I think it's all integrated. Honestly, I love, I don't really see work. It's all integrated. And I enjoy it on a personal level. I like that. I like the fact, was there. Whether I'm sitting, sipping a margarita on a beach somewhere or not, and I have an email I can respond to, it's it's all good. So I think it's all integrated for me. When you love what you, when you love what you do and you're passionate about it, I think it's all one, one good thing. balance in a way. But as a leader, I approach it a different way. Make sure that my team is well taken care of from that aspect.

Rachel Humphrey:

And you mentioned earlier by prioritizing keeping your family in the same geography. Or the same location that you were trying to find balance between work and family in that setting as well. Related to work life balance. One of the things coming out of the pandemic is certainly a renewed focus on self care and wellness for ourself and for our colleagues and those who work with and for us. Is this something that is a focus for you? And if the answer is yes today, has it always been a focus for you? What are your thoughts on that? What do you tell someone maybe on your team who's really struggling to prioritize? Self-care.

Zack Gharib:

Yes. I, I look at the organization or originally what we have because I think, coming into Red Roof and realizing the things that we do to encourage self-care and wellness is really amazing. We offer our employee assistance. program, the E. A. P. Which, to all our team members and their dependents as well. So that offers grief support, legal, financial support. We also have a wellness committee that really discusses initiative to help and physical, mental, financial support as well. And, just the other day, I've actually asked our team to look at the possibility of having yoga meditation classes here at the corporate office just so that we can also offer this as an option here. I'm big on fitness. I like to meditate. I like to go exercise. I think a lot of people do that when you look at our guests these days, a lot of them are also being more health conscious and self care and wellness is important to them. Offering all these options for our team members and make it easy for them to access, including when they are here at work. Or whether it's on Zoom, whether it's through a phone call, I think it's critical these days. And that's really important to me as a leader. I

Rachel Humphrey:

love that. I want to, we are going to run out of time as I expected, but I'm going to ask you just a couple of quick final questions. One is we hear that a lot of people are guided by a personal mantra, a personal quote or something that helps them as they're shining, guiding light when they're making decisions. Do you have anything like that?

Zack Gharib:

Yes, I have a very clear mantra that I go by. It's people first. That ideology has served me well in my personal life and in my career life. I think by putting people first, we can make sure that our employees are very well taking care of our franchisees are very well supported. Our guests are very well served and satisfied. And I go back to my to the beginning of my career when I was like white lodging services and I was on the opening team of the full service Marriott. In downtown Indianapolis. And after the hotel opened, after it opened by a couple of months, Mr. The great Billy Marriott visited the prop our hotel. And I was with my housekeeping team at the time, and he came in and, shook everybody's hands and, said, good job. And he looked at me, he is you have one, one main role. And, I said, what is it, Mr Mayor? He's you better take care of this team. And so that really has been my mantra throughout, throughout my entire career. And it has served me well, and it will continue being like that going forward.

Rachel Humphrey:

People first is a great mantra to have, certainly in the hospitality industry. Zach, one of the questions I love to ask and love to be asked is advice to our younger selves. I think we are all works in progress, and some of that is driven by reflection. As you sit here today, the recently named president of Red Roof. What do you tell 21 year old Zach either about how things play out or something you wish you had known then?

Zack Gharib:

Trust the past you're on is self doubt can really it takes resonance up in your mind sometimes. And, as you have so many things coming at you, you start. Doubting yourself. Is this the right decision? Is that the right decision? Someone is telling you this thing. Someone is somebody else telling you that. But I think plus the past year on and when I look back at my journey and the obstacles and the challenges and you just keep driving forward, right? You get up and you go to work and you know that eventually, good things will happen. I think if you if you are in the hospitality industry. And you love it. And you're going out there every day with passion and drive. And really that's great to serve our guests or being a great team member or being a great support to the leaders. Then good things will happen. So that's your best forward. It's going to be a good

Rachel Humphrey:

one. That's great advice. As we wrap up today, thinking about our motto, which is empowering personal success, is there any final piece of advice you'd like to share with our audience?

Zack Gharib:

I going back to my mantra, always take care of the people around you and good things will happen. And so I think that's the biggest advice I can give. But when I look back at. At the journey of at my journey in the hospitality industry, which is now about 2526 years. Our industry is so amazing and resilient. We're gonna have our ups. We're gonna have our downs. I wish which we have all seen it right. Some days are great. Some days are not as great. But I think if you approach if your approach is consistent and your approach to our franchisees, our teams, our team members, you will You know, our partners is consistent and shows passion and shows that you're really looking after the best interest. I think it's gonna pay off eventually for you and everyone around you. And the last thing I can say is never stop being curious. That will always takes you to new places. Curiosity is an amazing thing.

Rachel Humphrey:

Zach, I have really enjoyed getting to know you a little bit better today, and I'm appreciative for the time. I'm also excited to see what you do with your time at Red Roof, but thank you so very much for joining It's Personal Stories today. I really appreciate it.

Zack Gharib:

Rachel, thank you very much for this opportunity. It was great to meet you as well for the first time, and thank you again.

Rachel Humphrey:

And to our audience, thank you so much for joining us today. We hope you'll head over to the website to hear from nearly 200 other hospitality industry leaders who likewise have shared their journeys to leadership and the insights that they have learned along the way. But thank you very much for joining us. Bye

Zack Gharib:

guys.