Ask anyone who has spent a January in Davos what the Annual Meeting is really about, and they will tell you it is only partly the official programme. A great deal of the week — arguably the most valuable part — happens outside the Congress Centre, in the constellation of side events, pavilions, and private gatherings that fill the town.
The Promenade
During the meeting, the Davos Platz promenade transforms. Shops, restaurants, and storefronts are taken over by companies, countries, and organisations, becoming temporary "houses" and pavilions for the week — venues for talks, demonstrations, receptions, and meetings. Walking the Promenade is itself a way to take the temperature of the year's themes, and many of these spaces are more accessible than the badged official sessions.
Hosted breakfasts, dinners, and receptions
Around the formal programme runs a dense schedule of invitation-only events — breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and evening receptions hosted by firms, funds, delegations, and media. For many attendees this is where the substantive conversations and introductions actually happen. The calendar fills quickly, the best events overlap, and the logistics of moving between them in a busy, partly-controlled town are a real part of the challenge.
Private meetings
Beyond the public and semi-public events, the week is built on private meetings — bilaterals, board gatherings, investor conversations — often held in hotels, hired spaces, or private residences. This is precisely why so many delegations choose to take a whole property for the week: a private base you can host from, brief in, and meet in, without sharing space with anyone else.
Making it work
The difference between a productive Davos and an exhausting one usually comes down to logistics: a base close to where you need to be, transfers that account for the security zones, a place to host, and someone managing the moving parts. None of it can be improvised once the week begins — it is arranged in advance.
That's the role the iDavos concierge team plays: securing venues and tables, arranging hosting and catering in your accommodation, and handling the transfers between it all. See the events page for more on the programme, browse accommodation you can host from, or get in touch to plan your week around the meetings that matter.