Spotlight Interview: Szilard Vegas – CEO of Wholesale Hotels Group! @WholesaleHotels

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me! Please tell us a bit about yourself and what you do currently…

It is truly my pleasure Ruth and thank you for having me. My name is Szilard Vegas and I am the Founder and CEO of Wholesale Hotels Group. I was born in Hungary under the communism and immigrated to the USA in 2007. I founded this company in 2012 January, with the vision to provide a platform that allows corporations, government entities, travel professionals and last but certainly not least, individual users to access wholesale hotel rates worldwide.

What inspired you to start doing your own business venture?

Back in the day – as an individual user myself – I owned my own consulting business and was constantly seeking for great hotel deals while I was traveling for both work and leisure and I knew that there had to be a better alternative to the big hotel booking sites that we all know too well. Once I found ways that were not public knowledge, I quickly realized that there was a whole new world out there. I started helping my friends get 5-star accommodations even though they could only afford 3-star hotels. It occurred to me what my mission must be in life. I simply love the concept of helping people while making money, it truly doesn’t get any better than that.

What has been your biggest achievement so far?

We work tirelessly to bring substantial savings to our members who provide us with their continued trust, business and patronage. Besides having all the industry credentials from IATAN, ASTA and being rated A+ with the Better Business Bureau after being in operation for over 6 years, every time a hotel booking is made on our site is a success story because every dollar our members save makes us happy and it is a true testament that it is worth doing what we are doing. Our achievement lies in their success!

What fuels you to keeps you going each day?

I came to the USA with a net worth of $350 without knowing anybody here. Living in this amazing country has proven to me that if you work really hard for something, you can achieve your dreams. Every day I wake up, I thank God that I get to be in a country where your efforts are acknowledged, and simply the thought of unfulfilled potential incentivize my every day. I must say that I truly enjoy making money while helping other people save it or to help them achieve a stay that until now they only could have dreamed of. Furthermore, creating jobs and providing a secure living for everybody who works towards the success of my company is an additional incentive and these are the things that keep me going each day.

Who are the top 3 celebrities/experts you’d love to work with? And why?

There are quite a few visionaries in today’s world who not only become famous and make billions but changing the world for the better. I admire people who put their time, effort and hard-earned money to make a difference in other people’s lives because those are the core principles I live by as well. Namely (and in no particular order):
Elon Musk, Steve Wynn and Bill Gates.

Take a moment to close your eyes. Where do you see yourself in 5 year’s time?

I see myself as the CEO of Wholesale Hotels Group while growing our brand and making it more of a household name like the other big sites out there. I can see our brand gain global exposure and be the provider of the best hotel deals worldwide. I also enjoy philanthropy and supporting causes I greatly care about and are close to my heart and I intend to take a more substantial role by then.

Who or what is your greatest love?

It may sound quirky, but I have great passion and love for my job. Of course, still seeking THE ONE but I am sure it will happen one day.

What book do you recommend most to others?         

I come from a family of book worms (my dad being a literature fan and my mom being an ex-teacher), however, I have never been fond of reading books. On the other hand, I truly enjoy reading about a variety of topics that pertain to my life and provide ideas on how to better my life or the life of my loved ones and how I can become a more successful entrepreneur. You can never stop learning, you will never know everything, and you can never predict what information can come handy later in life. As a result, I don’t mind reading hours, days, weeks or even months about certain topics that interests me, but practicality must always be applicable.

If you could get the perfect help from an online tax return service, what would they do for you?

I think the perfect help would be assistance with structuring my business and providing proper planning for it to reduce the tax liability and to save money for my company.

Can you give our readers 2 key tips for staying creative?

The ways I stay creative are as follows:
– Getting an adrenalin rush by making money.
– Knowing that your success will have a positive impact on other people’s lives.

These two things certainly motivate me to stay creative every day.

Where is your happy place?

Due to my extensive travels, I genuinely enjoy being home at my condo in Las Vegas. I must admit though that there is no happy place without a happy soul. You need to be happy with yourself before you can find happiness anywhere.

If you were stuck on a desert island and could only bring 3 things what would they be?

The three things I can’t live without:
1. Portable wi-fi so I can still run WHG from the distance and keep in touch with my loved ones.
2. My laptop (for pretty much the same reasons)
3. A girlfriend so that I am not alone on that island and can share romantic dinners on the beach when I want to take a few hours off from work.

How do you describe yourself in 5 words?

If you can recognize the quirkiness in it; I would characterize myself in these five words:

“I am a rebel.”

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me! Where can we find and follow you online?


Thank YOU for taking the time to make this interview happen, I really appreciate it. You can find me via the following links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/szilard-nathan-vegas
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whotelsgroup