Golden Egg hotel scrambles to fill rooms

The Golden Egg, the newest luxury hotel in Davos, was the place to be for the global elite at last year's World Economic Forum, selling out all of its 216 rooms. On one evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife dined at its restaurant, while the former prime minister of Britain, Tony Blair, was seen in the bar with a colleague, according to General Manager Peter Pedersen.

Six months later, the five-star hotel's management company went bust and its owner, a Credit Suisse Group AG fund, had to start picking up the pieces. Despite its famous guests, which also included Goldie Hawn and Bono, and extensive research into the local market, Inter Continental Davos was faced with empty rooms once the annual forum's delegates went home.

"Davos is dead in spring and summer," said Karl Wild, author of an annual ranking of Switzerland's best establishments. "Hotels typically make 20 percent to 30 percent of their income during the WEF."