Historic Hotels of America to Honor Horst Schulze

Historic Hotels of America has announced that Horst Schulze has been named the Recipient of the “2021 Historic Hotels of America Legacy of Innovation and Inspiration Award.” The annual award, which is being presented for the first time, recognizes Schulze’s accomplishments in pioneering innovative concepts for achieving success. 

The award will be presented to Schulze at the 2021 Historic Hotels Annual Conference at The American Club Resort Hotel in Kohler, Wisconsin on November 10. The audience will comprise owners, general managers and other senior decision-makers representing historic hotels from across the world. The American Club Resort Hotel was inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 1991 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Schulze’s professional life began over 65 years ago as a server’s assistant in a German resort town. Through the years, he worked for Hilton Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation before becoming one of the founding members of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in 1983. There, Schulze served as president and COO responsible for the $2 billion operations worldwide.

In 1995, Schulze was awarded the Ishikawa Medal for his personal contributions to the quality movement. In 1999, Johnson & Wales University gave him an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree in Hospitality Management. Most recently, Schulze has been honored as a “Leader in Luxury” by Travel Agent magazine and its sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor.

After leaving The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Schulze went on to found and serve as chairman and CEO of the Capella Hotel Group. Schulze currently serves as “expert in residence” at Arch + Tower, a boutique, organizational strategy consulting firm. He recently completed his first book “Excellence Wins: A No Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise.” 

“On behalf of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Hotels of America, and Historic Hotels Worldwide, we are pleased to recognize and honor Horst Schulze with the 2021 Historic Hotels of America Legacy of Innovation and Inspiration Award,” said Lawrence Horwitz, executive vice president, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide, in a press note. “Mr. Schulze has been a legendary pioneer in excellence and service as well as an inspiration to generations of leaders that want to become the best in a world of constant compromise. Both an early and constant disrupter in what was long considered acceptable service, Mr. Schulze’s decades of innovation have demonstrated that Excellence Wins every time.”

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