Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Davos apartment rental prices spike ahead of WEF

davos
Pricey spot: Davos in southeastern Switzerland. © Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Visitors travelling to the mountain town of Davos for this month’s World Economic Forum (WEF) could face pricey rates, according to Swiss media.

The Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper writes on Saturday that a three-bed studio in the canton Graubünden town costs CHF2,600 ($2,800) a night during the WEF, which runs from January 16-20. With service charges and cleaning, this comes to CHF15,000 for the five nights of the event, the paper writes.

In February, the same studio rents for CHF150 a night.

The newspaper also mentions the example of an apartment with two double beds and a sofa bed going for CHF25,000 for the five nights.

Price hikes during WEF week are a recurring phenomenon, and a source of criticism, especially from the WEF organisers – who themselves need to rent rooms for their employees.

More
wef

More

Can the WEF stop de-globalisation?

This content was published on The forces pushing against the World Economic Forum’s view of the global economic order are gaining ground. Is this the end of the WEF as we know it?

Read more: Can the WEF stop de-globalisation?

Fair hotel prices

The director of the Davos-Klosters tourism board told Schweiz am Wochenende that while the rates are “sometimes out of this world”, there’s not much he can do. “We can only make recommendations and remind people that the exorbitant prices endanger the existence of the WEF,” Reto Branschi said.

Branschi added that the problem is mainly confined to holiday apartments rather than hotels. In hotels, at least 80% of the beds are reserved for WEF participants during the week of the event, at prices which are “absolutely fair”. The price of the remaining beds are determined by the market, he said.

WEF, one of the primary global gatherings of politicians and business leaders, is adhering to its traditional winter timing this year after several disrupted or postponed editions due to Covid-19. The estimated 3,000 participants in the mountain town will be facilitated by up to 5,000 members of the Swiss military, which has already begun work on security installations for the high-level event.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR