Budget — Mountain Camp 2027¶
Revenue¶
| Source | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket sales (100-140 attendees) | ~CHF 12k (120 paying × ~CHF 100 avg) is the stretch; ~CHF 7-9k is realistic (see note) | Proposal below; shop not open yet (Sep 23) |
| Sponsorships | CHF 40k (range 30-50k), 20k by Oct 31 | See sponsorship/prospectus.md and the GTM plan |
| Pre-conference add-on | ~0 (free sign-up) | Lift passes paid by attendees directly; keep it a free RSVP for headcount |
| Fondue social add-on | ~CHF 3.5k (70 × CHF 50) | Pass-through: costs ~CHF 3.3k |
| Splash Awards (if we run them) | ~CHF 6k | 2025: submissions + one award sponsor brought ~6.3k against ~3.8k cost. Open decision in the GTM plan |
Tickets, realistic 7-9k: in 2025 about a third of the people on site had a free ticket (speakers, sponsors, nominees). The prospectus alone includes ~25-30 sponsor tickets at the "realistic" sell-through, plus ~25 speakers. At 120 on site, expect ~70-80 paying tickets at a mixed average around CHF 100-110.
Expenses¶
Rough estimates for ~120 people over 3 days, built from the 2025 venue/catering offers and budget (see 2025 reference below) plus ~5-10% for price increases. Replace with real 2027 quotes as they come in.
| Category | Estimated (CHF) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Venue (Davos Congress Centre) | ~9,000 | 2025: CHF 7k room hire + CHF 1k setup extras. A 2022 quote for a bigger setup was ~9.7k. Get the 2027 quote |
| Catering | ~11,500 | Standing lunch was CHF 28/person/day in 2025; ~100/day × 3 days ≈ 9k. Coffee CHF 3.50/portion (2 breaks/day), fruit CHF 15.50/kg, water ≈ 2.5k |
| AV/Technical | ~0-1,000 | Not a separate line in 2025 (in-house kit came with the venue). Confirm what's included |
| Printing | ~800 | 2025: badges + posters ≈ CHF 620 |
| Swag | ~0-1,500 | None in 2025. Speaker gift (Victorinox) only if the package sells |
| Social events | ~6,000 | Fondue ≈ CHF 47/person × 70 ≈ 3.3k (2025: CHF 44, sold below cost at 40). Welcome apéro ≈ CHF 25/person × 100 ≈ 2.5k. Pub quiz prizes ~100 |
| Pre-conference activities | ~300 | Attendees pay lift passes; budget covers a meeting-point drink at most |
| Speaker travel support | ~5,200 | 2025: 4 keynotes × CHF 800 = 3.2k (typical: flight ~200, train ~60, 3 hotel nights ~600). 2027 has 5 headliners ≈ 4k. No speaker dinner in 2027 (the 2025 one cost 1.2k and split the camp); speaker gift ≈ 1.2k instead, covered if the gift package sells |
| Recording/streaming | ~3,000 | No recordings budgeted in 2025. Needs a quote; the "Session recordings" sponsor package (3k) should cover it |
| Photography | ~800 | 2025: CHF 730 |
| Tools & fees | ~500 | Pretalx CHF 200 + Pretix/payment fees |
| Insurance | ~0 | 2022 notes say the Drupal Events association liability insurance covers it. Confirm for 2027 |
| Contingency (~10%) | ~3,500 | 2025 kept CHF 800 for extras; with a bigger event, keep more |
| Total | ~CHF 41-45k | vs ~CHF 29k planned for ~80 people in 2025 |
Break-even check: costs ~42k minus realistic tickets (~8k) and fondue (~3.5k) leaves ~CHF 30k to cover from sponsorship. 2025 raised ~20.5k, so sponsorship has to grow by about half; the CHF 40k target is the comfortable number, 30k is break-even.
Ticket Tiers (Pretix)¶
Proposal Sep 23, 2026: the core team approves by Thu Sep 24 so the shop can open Fri Sep 25. CHF, 3-day pass incl. lunch and coffee.
2025 prices for reference: Super Early 60 / Early 80 / Normal 100 / Late 120 / Single day 60.
| Tier | Window | Proposed price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird | Sep 25 - Nov 15 | 80 | Ends with the schedule announcement; voucher ROTTERDAM for tracking |
| Regular | Nov 16 - Mar 1 | 120 | Online until sold out |
| On-site | At the door | 140 | |
| Day pass | Always | 60 | One conference day |
| Student / Newcomer | Always | 50 | Drupal in a Day grads, students, unemployed; honour system |
| Supporter | Always | 250 | Includes funding one newcomer ticket |
| Fondue Social | Add-on | 50 | 2025 cost was ~CHF 44/head (sold at 40, at a loss). Re-confirm 2027 per-head with the restaurant |
| Pre-Conference (ski) | Add-on | 0 (RSVP) | Lift passes are paid by attendees directly; free sign-up gives us a headcount |
Community voucher codes (10% off, for tracking channels): SYMFONY, PHPZH, AIZH, DRUPALCH, one per speaker.
Sponsorship Tiers¶
| Tier | Target | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum | 9,000 (1) | Presents Dries fireside chat, lightning talk, 4 tickets |
| Gold | 4,500 (4) | Lightning talk, booth, 3 tickets |
| Silver | 2,000 (8) | Sponsor area, 2 tickets |
| Bronze | 800 | Logo, 1 ticket |
See sponsorship/prospectus.md for details.
2025 Reference¶
See also the 2025 organiser retro. Rounded, aggregated from the 2025 budget, ticket export and venue offers. No personal data.
Size: ~80 people on site (~140 tickets incl. 60 fondue add-ons). Only ~35-40 were paying conference tickets; ~28 speakers, ~7 sponsors and several award nominees came free.
Where the money came from (~CHF 29.5k):
| Source | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsorship (11 sponsors: 3 Gold at 3k, then 2k / 1.5k / 1k / 500 tiers, plus a social and an awards sponsor) | ~20.5k | ~70% |
| Splash Awards submissions (15 × CHF 250) | ~3.8k | ~13% |
| Conference tickets (60-120 per ticket) | ~2.9k | ~10% |
| Fondue add-on (60 × CHF 40) | ~2.4k | ~8% |
Where it went (~CHF 29k planned): venue ~8k, food & beverages ~9k (incl. fondue), Splash Awards ~3.8k, keynote travel + speaker dinner ~4.4k, marketing/print/photo ~1.6k, tools/admin ~1.8k (incl. association SaaS), extras ~0.8k. Planned result: roughly break-even.
Lessons for 2027:
- Sponsors fund the event. Tickets cover ~10-20% of costs; sponsorship covers the rest.
- People buy late. ~80% of 2025 tickets were bought in the last 6 weeks, over half in the event month. Sponsor money must cover the venue deposit and early costs; don't panic about slow December sales.
- Don't sell add-ons below cost. Fondue lost ~CHF 4/head.
- Free tickets add up. Every free seat still costs ~CHF 100+ in catering. Cap speaker tickets at one per session (co-speakers pay a discounted rate) and count sponsor tickets in the headcount.
- Plan catering per day, not per ticket. 2025 lunches were ordered for 40 / 64 / 60 people across the three days; day 1 is lighter.
Notes¶
- Ticket price not main barrier — travel/accommodation bigger factor
- Grants for community contributors may be explored but "hard to scale"
- Focus on quality over quantity — 100 engaged attendees > 140 passive
Expenses are rough estimates from 2025 actuals (Sep 23, 2026): please replace venue, catering and recording lines with real 2027 quotes. Prices are proposals (Sep 23, 2026).