JOACHIM Rudolf Schutte, Shangri-La Mactan’s Island Resort and Spa general manager, has a serious look about him that makes him look unapproachable but when he lights up in a smile, one realizes he is actually genial and warm. And his staff says he even loves to crack jokes!

He came to Cebu from Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa, which was his last development project in his four-year stint as director of development for the Shangri-La chain of hotels.

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A native of Werl, Germany, he has been in the hospitality industry since probably the day he was born, since his is from a family of hoteliers, his great grandfather having established one in the 1880s. Still, he chose to work his way up starting at age 16 when he apprenticed at the Adac Hotel Risse in Willebadessen, Germany. From there he moved to Casino Travemunde as commis de cuisine.

In 1984, Shutte decided to bring his culinary expertise to Asia in hotels in Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur and Indonesia. Then he went back to his hometown, Werl, where he managed his family’s hotel and restaurant, Erbslazer.

After about a decade in his home place, he went back to Asia, back to Bali, Indonesia, in 1997. In 2001, he joined the Shangri-La Group as resident manager of Shangri-La in Quiandao, China.

A year later, he was in Shangri-La’s Jakarta, again as resident manager. His first post as general manager was in the Maldives, in Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa.

He was transferred to the Shangri-La Hotel Management Limited office where he was director of development and was in charge of developing the chain’s Boracay luxury resort.

For Shangri-La’s Mactan, he is focusing on giving the best quality service “a top resort can offer in the market…and to concentrate on training, educating and developing of our employees. To improve the quality of service in the resort we have to invest in people.”

He will also work closely with the food and beverage team to create new and remarkable dining experiences for its guests; will stabilize and improve the position of Shangri-La’s Mactan as the leading resort in the region; and will develop the team of employees through dedication drives and motivation.

A great believer in motivation, Schutte inspires people to excel in their work “by taking ownership of the service they give guests and colleagues in the hotel.”

He also thinks that teamwork is necessary to achieve the hotel’s goals. He has so motivated the hotel employees that, for the first time in the 16 years of its existence, it won the grand championship in the sports fest of the Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu, cheering his people with his favorite slogan: “We are Shangri-La!”

With his wife Christina, Schutte is slowly learning about Cebu, finding the island’s hospitality to be genuine and one of the best he has seen in his over three decades in the industry.

He has tried island-hopping, playing golf and driving around Cebu to unwind from the stress of hotel work. Just as he is getting to know Cebu better, so are Cebuanos getting know better this very capable hotel man, a worthy addition to the local expatriate community.