Replicating the glitz and glamor of high-profile events is an essential part of our Master’s in Luxury Management and Guest Experience. So how did our second semester students perform when it was their turn to make the magic happen?

It takes more than a plush venue, sparkling wine, and tasty canapés to make a luxury event, as our second semester Master’s in Luxury Management and Guest Experience (LMGE) students found out in January when they put on the style for their own gala evening.

As part of the LMGE Master’s program, students are tasked with organizing a luxury event – and this year’s class certainly pulled out all the stops in more ways than one. An opportunity for students to combine what they have learnt in class with practical experience of real-world events planning, this year’s assignment saw the present cohort take a novel approach from the outset.

“For the first time in its history, our Glion luxury event was held in a different venue from the usual one,” says Master’s student and the designated Project Manager for the event, Colin Gutman. “We chose La Grande Salle of the Hôtel de Ville in Bulle – complete with its large stage, balcony and beautiful reception area – because it has a strong track record in hosting the kind of prestigious events we were seeking to emulate.”

More than 30 students were involved in organizing the event – called ‘Glion X JAYA’ – which celebrated high-class Prosecco with a brand presentation by supplier JAYA’s Chief Executive Officer, Tancredi Pascale (see main picture). There were also tastings of three different types of the popular sparkling white wine and an afterparty hosted by a DJ and singer.

Another innovation for the evening was a prize draw and an app-based game competition – developed by the school’s metaverse and gaming team – for the chance to win a magnum of Prosecco.

Preparation counts

While the gala evening itself clearly took a significant amount of work on the night, much of the preparation to ensure it ran smoothly happened well in advance.

Students first assigned leadership roles to Project Manager Colin Gutman and Project Coordinator Céleste Le Hétêt, then divided the remainder of the class among different organizing departments, including marketing, food and beverage, entertainment, budget, digital and sales.

“Each team was given roles and responsibilities and deadlines by which time they needed to complete their allotted tasks,” says Céleste. “By dividing things up among separate teams, it made it much easier to coordinate everything. We also nominated Louis Becker as the evening’s host, whose role it was to entertain guests, announce the different activities and make sure everything went smoothly on the night.

During the lead-up to the event, students were able to call on the knowledge and experience of Glion’s International Event Management specialist Giovanni Manfredini whenever they needed extra assistance. Giovanni also held classes relevant to luxury event management to help students with the theory they would need to put into practice to run a successful event, plus he offered suggestions on the theme and organizational procedures.

As with all event planning, true success can only be judged on the night itself; and hours of preparation can go up in smoke if something goes wrong. But there were no worries this time – thanks to the professionalism shown by the students and well-chosen entertainments, the evening turned out to be a resounding success.

Vintage performance

“More than 70 guests who included fellow students, alumni and friends managed to consume in excess of 100 bottles of the three different JAYA Proseccos on offer during the course of the evening, which was a great effort,” adds Colin. “The presentation was fascinating, while our host Louis Becker kept things moving along all evening before we convened for the after party.

“And judging by the festive mood among guests at the after party, the event appears to have been really well received.”

While an event that ticks all the boxes is one of the principal goals of the exercise, equally important is the learning the students take away from being involved in its organization.

“In taking on and overseeing responsibilities, students develop a range of different skills that they will be able to call on in their future careers whatever they choose to pursue,” says Giovanni Manfredini. “Another important element of the exercise is the post-event analysis, which helps students understand their strengths and areas for improvement.

“However, the crucial element in all of this is teamwork. From brainstorming to delegation, the way students work together gives them valuable insight into what’s required to plan and successfully execute a luxury event such as this.”

• To discover more about JAYA Prosecco, visit the website