Hotel magnate Horst Schulze addresses employees

Horst Schulze, who spoke in convocation last year, returned to Liberty University as the guest speaker at an event that recast the vision of the “You Matter” campaign for more than 2,000 faculty and staff on Tuesday.

Schulze, founder and CEO of the Capella Hotel Group, came to the United States in 1965 and worked for the Hyatt and Hilton hotel groups before becoming COO of Ritz-Carlton in 1988.

Ron Kennedy, senior vice president of Marketing, introduced Schulze as a “legend in the hotel business” and a leading speaker in the area of customer service.

Schulze shared with employees the three principles he espouses in his ventures with Capella: have a vision, be committed to that vision, and implement the steps it takes to get there.

“You don’t go to work to go to work,” Schulze said. “You go to work to create excellence.”

He focused on three things a customer expects from products or services they purchase: quality (free of defects), timely service, and caring service.

He spoke on emphasizing the value of first impressions and on making the customer feel important at first contact.

“You [Liberty University] are in the business to give people value, to go out and change the world,” Schulze said.

He said he travels 200 days a year, and that he sees Liberty as a “light” in America.

“Do not let your light go out,” Schulze said. “You are a light to everyone that you come in contact with, so make sure that you do not dim your light and make sure you value everyone.”

• The You Matter campaign was first launched in August 2011 as a university-wide initiative to provide faculty and staff with the resources needed to carry out the mission of changing students’ lives and helping to train Champions for Christ.
• View more quotes on Liberty’s You Matter Twitter page. A video of Tuesday’s event will be available soon on the You Matter website.