Ukraine summit on the Bürgenstock Macron, Scholz and Selensky sleep here

He does not decide which heads of state will sleep next door to each other at the Bürgenstock. Nevertheless, hotel manager Chris Franzen has to make sure that the high-ranking guests feel comfortable. But that doesn't mean he has sleepless nights.

Chris Franzen had to make a cold start: On April 1 of this year, he took over the position of Managing Director of the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne. The internationally experienced hotelier from Valais returned from the Gulf region after more than 15 years. Most recently, he had opened and managed a luxury resort complex in the Qatari capital Doha.

More or less on the same day, he learned that the Ukraine peace conference, which Switzerland was helping to organize, was to take place on the Bürgenstock. "That was of course a great start," says Franzen in broad Valais dialect in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. As a hotel manager, he enjoys organizing such events.

But the announcement of the conference did not trigger any special feelings in him; heads of state are hotel guests like any other, he says - slightly modestly. "Our aim is always for our guests to arrive well, feel comfortable and ultimately leave satisfied," says Franzen. To achieve this, the ambience has to be right: The lighting, the music, the decorations, the service - everything around it.

One hundred high guests for one "Chlapf"

The Zermatt native, who has been working in the industry for more than three decades and comes from a family of hoteliers, has already welcomed numerous state guests and celebrities as hotel manager, as he explains. "But yes, of course not 80 to 100 in one 'Chlapf'".

So it doesn't seem to be quite so commonplace after all. He laughs and admits that he also feels a sense of anticipation. "When all the people you normally only see on the news are together in your hotel on these days, it's fantastic," he says - visibly excited. And finally, holding this conference doesn't just benefit the hotel financially and in terms of marketing. The entire region and suppliers benefit immensely from it.

16'000-Franken-Suiten

Around 900 people are expected to attend this weekend in June. The hotel on the Bürgenberg high above Lake Lucerne and the Stans plain will be full. The conference is being organized by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). "The Bürgenstock Resort is the venue, the meeting point," says the hotelier.

However, not all participants will be able to stay overnight on the Bürgenstock. The hotels in Lucerne and the surrounding area are already fully booked. The FDFA decides who will be accommodated where. "We have no say in that," says Franzen. So it remains to be seen who will be allowed to rest in the most expensive rooms, the 16,000-franc suites, on these days.

The Bürgenstock team only provides advice when it comes to menu planning for Volodymyr Selenskyj and Co. "He who pays, commands," says Franzen. In this case, the federal government.

Politicians are "the easiest guests"

For the hotel on the Bürgenstock, which can look back on over 150 years of history, hosting such a large conference is "everyday hotel life", as Franzen says. "We have it under control." The pressure is no greater than usual. The infrastructure is in place, the know-how, the staff. Depending on the season, the resort employs around 700 people.

He will not have sleepless nights because of the conference. He just hopes that there won't be any last-minute cancellations. The closer the date gets, the more you can feel the special energy building up.

So far, the resort has not had to accept any special requests. The army is taking care of the construction of a temporary helipad in the Obbürgen area just below the resort. However, Franzen also emphasizes that politicians usually only have a few special requests compared to film stars. "They are the easiest guests."

Personal photos are taboo for staff

The imposing location of the resort is ideal for such a conference and is easy to control, as there are only two roads leading to the top. There are also the many rooms - the resort comprises three hotels with 360 rooms and suites as well as a ballroom for 600 people and 15 conference rooms. If required, the two indoor tennis courts could also be converted into conference rooms.

The really big challenge for the hotel and its crew is the security aspect, says Franzen. But the federal government is also responsible for this. "We discuss with our team what can and can't be done," explains Franzen. Because even if the guests are high-ranking and encounters with them may not be an everyday occurrence for hotel employees, Franzen says that taking their own photos, for example, is not an option.

He himself is particularly looking forward to meeting the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amherd. The last time he met her was in May 2014 in a hotel in Doha, where he was the hotel manager. The fact that he can now welcome her again as Managing Director at the Bürgenstock is very special. An encounter entirely among Valaisans.