A GLITTERING PRIZE

Michele Alguacil, Managing Director of Profile Paris, recalls her stint as a judge of the very first Hyatt Student Prize in France, and describes a most deserving winner.

The call came out of the blue. Would I be happy to be one of the judges of the inaugural Hyatt Student Prize (L’Etudiant de l’Année) for the outstanding student of hotel management in France? Michel Jauslin, Area Vice President of Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, was organising the awards, designed to raise the profile of what is still a relatively under-recognised field compared to other equally distinguished areas such as culinary arts. I was delighted, not to mention honoured, to be asked to play a part. It turned out to be a very enlightening endeavour and, for myself personally, an experience both humbling and enriching.

Hyatt itself would have no role on the jury. Instead, the company had assembled a roll-call of individuals drawn from media and the arts, recruitment, education, consultancy, finance, and the luxury cosmetics industry. The President of the jury was the famous writer and literary TV host Daniel Picouly. My other fellow judges were the Editor-in-Chief of L'Officiel Voyage, Christian Luc Parison, and the Editor-in-Chief of Journal du Dimanche, Guillaume Rebiere; Alexandre Bader, Managing Director of Champagne Billecart-Salmon; Elisabeth Sandager, International Director of Helena Rubinstein; Fabrice Salmon, Partner at Lutetia Capital and Young Global Leader 2007; Samuel Salvisberg, Deputy Director of the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausunne and Georges Panayotis, founder and CEO of the MKG Group. A mixed group indeed...but of course there were those of us in the jury who clearly enjoyed a foothold in the luxury hotel industry.

Bringing together people from diverse industry and professional backgrounds to select the person who best embodied the qualities of the ‘perfect hotelier’ was, I think, a masterstroke. As judges, we were able to share points of view that reflected our own experiences and expectations. In a way, it was like breathing in waves of fresh air!

A rigorous process

It was never meant to be easy, as competition would be fierce. Eight of the top French hotel management schools had put forward who they thought were among their best second and final year students. Students from ESHOTEL Paris, ESTHUA Angers, IMHI Paris, Institut Paul Bocuse Lyon, La Rochelle Business School of Tourism, Ecole de Savignac, EMH Strasbourg and Vatel Paris were then asked to prepare three essays on topics ranging from how they saw themselves in 5 years’ time to why they had chosen to work in the luxury hotel industry.

Just before meeting the eight finalists for the first time at the marvellous Park Hyatt Paris – Vendome on 18th December last year – the day of the awards ceremony – as judges we were given the opportunity to read their dossiers. We then had the opportunity to speak to them face-to-face. The process was split into two judging rounds. During the first round, we cross-examined the students in groups of four. Personally, I was looking for how well the students carried themselves and interacted, the manner in which they responded to questions (their words, their tone) and their overall personality and attitude. Also, I wanted to hear them explain how they would go about realising their ambitions to become hoteliers.

A worthy winner

Whilst they were all impressive, in the end there could be only one winner. Here, the jury was unanimous. Laure Brovelli, a former translator now on her second and final year of an International Hospitality Management MBA at IMHI clearly stood out. Laure was charming, poised and articulate. She’d also accumulated considerable experience for her years with internships at Hilton in the United States and deluxe hotels in French Polynesia. In fact, you could say that she is ‘to the manner born’, her father being no other than Philippe Brovelli, who many in the industry consider to be the guru of French Polynesian hotels. But to the judges’ minds, and from what we heard and saw, Laure is very much her own person. No doubt a great future awaits her. She will have deserved it.

As the first Hyatt Student of the Year, a whole new vista has opened up for Laure. Apart from taking home the magnificent Baccarat trophy donated by Nikos Aliagas and Anne-Sophie Lapix -- two famous French TV presenters and journalists – and handed to her by Gebhard Rainer, Managing Director of Hyatt Hotels and Resorts for Europe, Africa and the Middle East during the glittering awards dinner at the Park Hyatt Paris - Vendome, she can also look forward to a trip to the Chicago headquarters of Hyatt Hotels and Resorts as well as visits to Hyatt hotels in Europe and the Middle East. She’ll also end her tour with a visit to Paris and a meeting with the general managers of Hyatt in the capital.

An experience to cherish

As for me, I had the pleasure of experiencing a night in a lovely suite of the Park Hyatt Paris - Vendome, returning to the office the next morning flush with the excitement of it all. It’s not every day that one has the opportunity to judge a prestigious new prize and to meet and network with some very illustrious figures and household names (the awards were so successful that Hyatt has said that they may go international next year). It’s rare good fortune indeed to be able to spend time in a room filled with so many bright, ambitious and hopeful young people, all of them telling you why they’re in love with our wonderful industry. This was certainly a milestone in my own career, and a gift I will always cherish.

You can contact Michele Alguacil at michele.alguacil@pmsr.com