Rita Opiah: Celebrating hospitality trailblazer on International Women’s Day

The truism about the acorn seed growing into an iroko tree has graphically illustrated the professional journey of Rita Opiah, general manager, Park Inn by Radisson Lagos Victoria Island. It has proved the wisdom of small beginnings – the eternal truth, which has it that you can attain any height of your dream if you believe and stay focused, no matter how small or humble you start.

Rita’s small beginnings have blossomed into the big success story that makes her worthy of being celebrated as an inspiration and a symbol of the ‘can do’ spirit of the Nigerian woman, one whose success story speaks to the theme of this year’s edition of the International Women’s Day (IWD), which is, “Accelerate Action, with the slogan, For all women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”.

She has demonstrated the determination of Nigerian women to rise above barriers, including stereotypes, to get to the pinnacle of their chosen careers.

The fact that Opiah is today the first Nigerian female general manager of the Radisson Hotel Group is a testament to her doggedness, integrity, hard work and unwavering commitment to excellence – some of the values she learned growing up in a family where she is the fourth of five children. She has become a thought leader and reference point not just in the Nigerian hospitality industry, but the country’s private sector, as well.

Her journey in the hospitality industry started in the position of a receptionist – not a highflying job for a lady with a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology. She had initially wanted to study law at the university to provide a voice for the voiceless, but it was not to be, as she could not secure admission for the course. Her inability to study her course of first choice probably had the hand of providence, as marketing, the course she finally settled on, turned out to be crucial to her progress in the hospitality industry.

In 2007, the year she joined Victoria Crown Plaza Hotel Lagos as a receptionist, the economic situation in the country was nowhere near what it is today, in terms of the unemployment rate. It may therefore be safe to say she did not take the job out of desperation, for want of a better job. It is possible she envisioned a career in the hospitality industry, the reason her position of employment was immaterial and, most importantly, what accounted for the passion with which she embraced the job.

She brought panache and finesse into her job and soon became one of the attractions at the hotel because of her friendly disposition, charm and disarming smiles that made guests feel instantly welcome. Added to this was the uncommon ease with which she resolved complaints – a common feature in service provider-customer relationship in the hospitality industry – which could both be genuine and trivial. She handled her job with so much dexterity, it was as if she always had a handbook on customer relations in hospitality permanently inside her handbag.

After two years in the reception of Victoria Crown Plaza and with considerable experience garnered, Opiah joined Protea Hotels, the South African hotel chain, where she began to hone her skills in the rudiments of pan-Africa hospitality. It was not long before her leadership qualities became manifest, marking her out as an employee to watch – qualities that have accounted for her meteoric rise in the industry.

Rita’s rise, up the ladder at Protea Hotel, was swift. She was made a reservationist after a few months of joining as a receptionist and, within one year, was promoted to the manager in charge of the sales and marketing team. It was a position that made her pivotal to the success of the hotel in a highly competitive market dominated by big names. But she was not intimidated. In fact, she excitedly embraced the challenge of leading a strategic unit of a hotel with a strong presence in different parts of Africa.

In her position as manager of the sales and marketing team, she was able to prove that challenges bring out the best in her. The outstanding results of her efforts convinced the hotel’s top management to give her executive roles with higher responsibilities. She took on more leading roles at Marriott Hotels, one of the world’s biggest hospitality brands, proving her mettle at every stage. The knowledge and expertise with which she executed her tasks were enough to earn her a career leap as the deputy general manager of Bon Hotels. Her rise in position meant an increase in responsibilities and challenges. She took them all in her stride.

Rita’s inability to study law at the university was just a temporary setback, considering there can be no end to learning. Even someone in a high-paying and fulfilling job would still crave more knowledge. The more you know, the more you want to know. Despite the highly demanding schedule of her job which came with her rising profile, she was able to shuttle between the hotel and the classroom at the University of Lagos where she studied and obtained a master’s degree in International Relations. Her choice course for her master’s may not have been unrelated to her job in an international organization – a job that brings her in close contact with individuals and organizations from different nationalities, ethnic groups, language jurisdictions, as well as political and religious persuasions.

The transition of Bon Hotels to Radisson Hotel Group, which she joined in 2018, was quite seamless, though not a walk in the park. It was an exercise for which she needed to fall back on the vast experience she had acquired on her way climbing up. For her and her team, it was a question of putting an old wine in a new skin, though with a different approach. Her approach caught the eyes of her supervising manager, who put her in charge of more. This ultimately showed off her potentials and getting noticed by her local owner, Asiwaju Tajudeen Owoyemi, chairman of Avalon Intercontinental Group, who alongside the executive directors of the leading pan-Africa hotel development organisation, gave her the glass shattering opportunity to oversee the operations of their hotel as general manager, an opportunity, which she forever remains profoundly grateful for.

The exercise involved tinkering with the taste of the wine to give it new flavor in a multi-million-naira project that entailed refurbishing, renovation and upgrading of facilities, and revamping of products to improve standard of service to meet new challenges and stay ahead of competition. This was more so as it was necessary to bring services in the transformed outfit at par with what is known of the Radisson brand, internationally. The outcome of the upgrade and modernization project is a brand new 56-room property that stands as a testimony to the drive and acumen of a woman who correctly fits the description of a first among equals.

Rita is credited with leading one of the swiftest transitioning opening projects by the Radisson Group in Africa. In her current role as general manager, she oversees the operations and executive management of a workforce of over 100 who have all bought into the expanded vision at the Park Inn by Radisson Serviced Apartments Lagos Victoria Island as Lagos-Island’s premier business and relaxation hub.

Rita has proved to be an asset to the Radisson Hotel Group. Since taking on her current position, she has implemented strategies that have seen an unprecedented 90 per cent growth in annual revenue over four years. Despite the global lockdown that was forced by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 which brought businesses around the world on their knees, Rita and her team’s performance was exceptional enough to earn the recognition of the Radisson Group as one of the few hotels globally to exceed its gross operating profit budget. The hotel was also recognized for exceeding the Group’s annual budget expectations by 25 percent.

Hard work has its reward. As expected, awards have come the way of this trailblazer over the years, from within and outside the country. She was the Winner of the Top 100 Travel and Tourism Personalities in Africa in 2022 and 2024 by Akwaaba African Travel Awards. She was a nominee for the General Manager of the Year 2023 by the Pyne Awards. In 2024, she emerged winner of the Top 30 Female Trailblazers in African Tourism.

The Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Lagos Victoria Island emerged the Global Winner in the Radisson Hotel Group Quality Accelerations Award for the Third Quarter of 2024; the 2024 Best City Hotel in Africa by the Miss Tourism Africa Award and the 2024 Best City Business Hotel in Nigeria Award by Hotel Managers Award.

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate IWD 2025, more is to be said of Rita Opiah, who is also the founder of the Ezinwanne Foundation, a nonprofit organisation, committed to empowering the girl child and shaping brighter futures for them irrespective of background. In all, Rita stands out undisputedly as a shining light among the country’s womenfolk – a source of strength and inspiration, and a role model to young girls contemplating a career choice. The lesson to be learned from her success story is that careers only do not take anyone to the top, the help of God is utmost; focus, hard work and commitment do.