If you could learn at the feet of one of the most respected hotel pioneers in the world, what would you discover? Find out what this hotel icon has to teach about leadership.
When you think of the Ritz-Carlton, certain thoughts pop into your head.
Maybe you imagine the hotel’s opulent environment that is designed to woo the senses. Or you think about the hotel’s renowned customer service and royal treatment.
The latter isn’t a coincidence. And it was all because of Horst Schulze’s vision for a hotel.
Schulze knew from an early age that he wanted to become a hotelier, despite never having been inside a hotel before. His family’s small German village also had no hotel to speak of, yet young Schulze was adamant.
His parents wanted to support his dream, but the nearest hotel was 60 miles away from the village. So, they reached out to a government program and got him a job as a busboy at a luxury hotel.
He left home at the tender age of 14 to go to boarding school and start working in the hotel industry. This humble beginning was only the start of his meteoric rise to stardom.
Schulze soon worked at the finest hotels in Europe, and later the United States. He worked his way up the chain each time and became in high demand in the industry. So much so that when a group of investors called him to start a new hotel company, he only had one thing to say:
“If you are willing to go top market, I would be interested, but I’m only interested [in] top market.”
He had the vision to combine the refinement of European hotels with the relaxed atmosphere of the United States. And he managed to create just that, and a lot more.
Nowadays, Schulze’s Ritz-Carlton is the gold standard of service in the hotel industry. Hoteliers around the world applaud his efforts and try to emulate his techniques.
So, if you need leadership tips, there’s no better person to learn from than this icon of the hotel industry.
The Tips
How do you become a gold standard in the industry?
Delve into the mind of the co-founder and founding president of the Ritz-Carlton company and find out.
Tip #1 – Set Your Three Universals
Schulze believes that there are three principles to live by, and that these traverse industries.
The first principle is to make sure that your product or service is defect-free. Your creation should work perfectly to eliminate any potential problems in the future.
Next, Schulze believes that everything should happen in a timely manner. Time is money and, in the case of hotel guests, immense frustration. Ensure that your guests see that you respect their time and don’t make them wait for something.
Lastly, remember that customers are people, too.
Schulze believes that they want and deserve respect. That means you should resist the urge to dehumanize them and turn them into transactions.
Instead, take the time to individualize and personalize their experience. When you focus on that, you automatically deliver outstanding services.
Tip #2 – Don’t Allow Anything to Cloud Your Vision
It’s easy to lose sight of your vision when you’re in the thick of things. But Schulze maintains that a company’s growth and complexity shouldn’t lead to clouded vision.
As a company evolves, it’s easy to lose sight of what you wanted to achieve in the first place. Remember that rules and regulations are a necessary evil. But you need to focus beyond that to achieve the growth and creativity needed to see your vision to fruition.
Tip #3 – Empower Your Employees
From the start, Schulze believed that empowering employees also empowered the organization. And he would know. After all, he started as a dishwasher at his first hotel job and worked other “lower” positions throughout his storied career.
In all his experience, he came across this simple truth:
People want to be a part of something greater. They want to have a purpose.
When working with your employees, remember that alignment with the company’s objectives is important. You want them to invest themselves in the vision and take ownership of it.
Schulze encourages employees to take the hotel’s vision as their own and be a part of that dream during orientations. And he does this for a very specific reason:
If they can grow and take ownership of customer satisfaction, they are more invested in the customer experience.
Tip #4 – Customer Service Always Wins
Schulze takes a holistic approach when designing customer service protocols. He understands that money does make big corporations applaud. But it’s the actual service that gets them to that point.
So, approach customer service with the individual in mind.
Everybody wants to be the most important person in the room, so he always strives to make them feel that way. And to do so, he studied the market to find out what customers really wanted.
When you focus on delivering the best customer service experience, the money will be coming to you. But if you choose to compromise for the sake of money, he says that the competition will eventually win.
Become the Gold Standard
How do you recreate the same success that the Ritz-Carlton achieved?
Take the time to focus on the experience and image of your hotel.
Each guest that walks through your doors wants a special experience. And each employee that applies for a job wants to be a part of a dream. Both are achievable only if you empower your employees to take part in that special customer service experience.
When you invest time in your employees, they, in turn, invest energy into the guests. As a result, guests leave your hotel feeling like the most important person in the world.
If you’re looking for ways to transform your hotel, who better to learn from than the man who wrote the gold standard?
Horst Schulze can attest that if you compromise for money, the competitor will win sooner or later. But if you focus on the customer service experience, it wins every time.
Are you ready for more transformative tips for your hotel?
Download this ebook for more industry secrets from some of the best hoteliers in history.
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