Ep 153: Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Hospitality with Horst Schulze

SUMMARY  

Hospitality is one of the most powerful differentiators that an organization possesses, but it can be challenging to create and sustain it across an entire culture. In this episode, cofounder and former president of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Horst Schulze, shares hospitality insights from a legendary career with GLN President and CEO, David Ashcraft. If you’re a leader who is interested in creating a culture of excellence and customer-focused hospitality, we invite you listen in to this rich conversation!   

IN THIS EPISODE 

• How did Horst get started in the hotel industry, and what did his early career look like? 
• At what point did people start to notice leadership skills in Horst?
• How does he think of customer service and hospitality, and how do they relate to excellence?
• How do you gain a passion for excellence, and how do you instill that same passion into a staff?
• How do you resist changing your values or focus?
• When you encounter a gap in excellence, how do you close the gap?
• After such a long and storied career, what keeps Horst going?  

LISTEN 

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 

 STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS 

• Don’t go to work to “work”; go to work to do a great job. 
• Every guest that walks through the front door is the most important person, and you’re not there to “give them a room”; you’re there to instill well-being in them.
• Hospitality means that you are there FOR the guests.
• As human beings, we should bring high intent to everything that we do.
• Excellence is not an accident. It’s a result of high intent and hard work.
• Don’t “hire” employees; SELECT them to join you in your endeavor.
• In new employee orientation, tell them who you are and invite them to join you (in being excellent); don’t just tell them the rules and regulations.
• Human beings cannot relate to orders and direction; they relate to objectives and motives.
• Human beings want to be respected, cared for and honored. How you satisfy these desires can change (with technology, etc.), but the desires do not change.
• People decide how they feel about someone if they come within 10 feet of them.
• Leverage daily team meetings: every 20 days, repeat and reemphasize vision and expectations.
• A great company understands its customer’s needs and remains focused on them.
• The difference between a 3-star and a 5-star is simply the level of care. There is very little difference in facilities.
• If an employee is struggling, it’s not their fault. The problem is just as likely centered in selection, orientation, training or work environment.
• Hotel employees are not “servants”: they are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. No matter what job an employee has, they can define themselves as a person of excellence.
• Hospitality and caring are business differentiators, and they are not difficult to execute.  

LINKS MENTIONED 

• Book: Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise (Amazon.com) 
• Website: Cappella Hotel Group
• Website: Team365 
• Website: Global Leadership Summit 2025 
• Website: Global Leadership Network 

SPONSOR 

•  This episode sponsored by Best Christian Workplaces.