Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland’s new Event Domes enhance its flexibility and thereby strengthen its position as a MICE destination, hotel manager Dominik Stalder tells CMW’s Simon George:
Welcome to the bleisure dome
Opened to much fanfare under the theme ‘The future of experience’ on 16 April 2026, Bürgenstock Event Domes provide a flexible, semi-permanent venue comprising three rooms featuring modular structures which can be adapted for a wide range of events – from strategic meetings to immersive brand experiences. With 1,450sqm of space, it has capacity for up to 550 guests and can be booked from April to October for the next three years after which there will be a discussion with the Swiss government on whether the structure becomes permanent.
A flying piano, magicians and street art performances, as well as an international artist from Cirque du Soleil, provided a surreal wow factor to the spectacular launch party, which was arranged artistically by the Belgian designer Charles Kaisin.
Plug-and-play optionality
From a MICE perspective, the rationale for the Event Domes is simple – the need for more event space and a different kind of space. As Bürgenstock’s hotel manager Dominik Stalder who has helped deliver large-scale international events, including the Peace Summit on Ukraine in June 2024, and has been integral to the new development, explains: “We have a beautiful ballroom (overlooking Lake Lucerne) which gives us about 500sqm of space. However, the types of event that we usually host last for more than one day. And if you have a plenum or a gala dinner or a conference in the ballroom, you need to have another similar size (or bigger) event space as well. Otherwise you have to turn around the whole ballroom in an hour or two. And if you have an extensive AV set-up or decoration, that is not possible.”
Having this new flexibility gives Bürgenstock a kind of “plug and play optionality”, Stalder acknowledged, an adaptable event space that is ready ‘to go’ technically and in terms of room furniture. This lowers the cost of staging big events and helps round off what Bürgenstock can offer in terms of MICE.
Booking visibility for the summer at the mountain venue resort is looking promising and the Event Domes are already generating bookings, Stalder said. “People want to travel either from the Middle East or especially the US, our second biggest market after Switzerland, followed by Europe.”
In terms of challenges, aside from the US-Iran situation and its impact on flights from the region, Stalder flagged the strength of the Swiss franc and recruitment – i.e., the importance of finding talented young people who are considering a career in the events industry and incentivising them through professional training and attractive benefits.
Dominik Stalder
Looking to the future, he commented: “I think it is very important to provide two different services: one is to put on events for clients and the other is to create our own events like food festivals, concerts with partners. A little bit outside of the box from ordinary MICE business … to tap into experiences, teamworking activities and so on.”
Stalder is very positive on the business events prospects: “The beauty of Bürgenstock as a destination is that we have the right solution for more or less every event – whether it is a car launch, a wedding, a milestone event. We have so many different indoor and outdoor possibilities and so many culinary options on offer. Our knowledge and the right partners can give you more or less 360 degrees project management.”
