Case Study
How does automation facilitate information gathering and logistical coordination for Château de Flaugergues?
The Château de Flaugergues, an architectural gem from the 17th century in Montpellier, listed as a historic monument since 1986, is a vast 4-hectare estate featuring remarkable gardens, an orangery, a bamboo grove, and an urban vineyard.
The château hosts numerous private and professional events: weddings, corporate seminars, gala dinners, cultural events, etc. In addition to its heritage spaces, it has a restaurant, gardens, and wine production, making it a very attractive but also complex place to manage from an operational point of view.
The challenge / Issue
Organizing an event at Château de Flaugergues is not just a matter of renting a venue. It involves designing a tailor-made experience, often for demanding clients (companies, institutions, agencies), in a historic setting, while complying with specific operational constraints.
Before Lab Event, the teams at Château de Flaugergues used a generalist CRM system, coupled with Excel files to manage events. This organization quickly showed its limitations in the face of logistical complexity and the diversity of services offered.
The management of schedules, rooms, and resources was not centralized, each quote took a considerable amount of time to create, but above all, a large part of customer follow-up was done manually:
- Follow-up emails or phone calls to obtain billing details or legal information after the quote was signed.
- Multiple exchanges as the event approached to confirm practical details: schedules, deliveries, accessibility, dietary restrictions, etc.
- There was a lack of standardization in how these steps were managed, which increased the risk of oversights or last-minute stress, especially during busy periods.
The observation: the team lacked a structured and automated framework to effectively manage customer relations, both in terms of handling large volumes of requests (particularly for weddings) and accurately tracking events after the quote was signed, right up to the big day.
The need was therefore twofold:
- Centralize and secure the collection of essential information as soon as the customer gives their consent.
- Establish a routine for logistical confirmation ahead of each event, without creating extra work or causing oversights.
Lab Event provided a concrete solution to these two issues thanks to its intelligent automation features.
Solution provided by Lab Event
Lab Event enabled the Château de Flaugergues team to structure its entire event process, from initial contact to the big day, thanks to a series of targeted automations. The goal: to reduce manual exchanges, streamline interactions with customers, and ensure rigorous follow-up without administrative overload.
Here are two concrete examples that illustrate this transformation:
Automation for collecting post-signature information
Once the quote has been signed, the goal is to quickly retrieve the administrative information needed for billing and proper event preparation. Previously, this step required manual follow-ups by email or phone, with the risk of forgetting certain key information.
Now, thanks to Lab Event, this process is automated:
As soon as a quote is marked as “signed,” an automatic email is sent to the customer.
This email contains a pre-filled table, easy to complete directly in the message, which invites the customer to provide:
- Their company name and contact details (address, SIRET, intra-community VAT number).
- Order information (indicating whether a purchase order is required, and order number if applicable).
- The contact details of the person to contact for billing (name, email, phone number).
Advantages:
- Customers no longer need to download documents or log in to an external platform: they can complete the email directly, which speeds up processing.
- Internally, teams retrieve reliable, standardized, and traceable information in Lab Event, significantly reducing the time spent on administrative follow-ups.
Automatic reminders before the event: smart logistical confirmation
As the event approaches, logistical coordination becomes critical. Before Lab Event, these exchanges took place in a disorganized manner, often through a multitude of emails or phone calls, which increased the risk of oversights or misunderstandings.
Today, thanks to an automated scenario designed by the Château de Flaugergues team in Lab Event, this stage is structured and anticipated:
Six days before the event, an automatic email is sent to the customer. This email includes:
> Arrival and departure times, as well as set-up and dismantling slots.
> The final number of participants.
> The configuration of the spaces (meeting, meal, cocktail party).
> Any specific constraints:
- Special dietary requirements
- Technical requirements (microphones, sound system, stage, etc.)
- Accessibility
- Logistical or security constraints
In practical terms, this allows you to:
✔ Avoid last-minute manual reminders.
✔ Centralize all information in Lab Event so that every member of the team (technical, kitchen, reception, etc.) has the correct version.
✔ Reduce stress during busy periods, while offering a professional and rigorous service.
Mise en œuvre / Développement
The Château de Flaugergues team was guided step by step through the deployment of Lab Event, with a clear objective: to streamline their processes and reduce time-consuming tasks.
Comprehensive onboarding tailored to their organization
From the outset, several onboarding sessions were organized to configure the platform according to the site’s business needs:
- Creation of event types (seminars, weddings, private parties, etc.)
- Integration of spaces (rooms, outdoor areas), resources, and associated rates
- Implementation of quote templates tailored to each type of service
This deployment was complemented by in-person training, enabling all teams to become fully operational on Lab Event’s key features and quickly adopt new practices.
A gradual and supported implementation
Regular follow-ups allowed us to adjust settings and answer questions as they arose, ensuring a smooth transition and no disruption to business.
