Frequently Asked Questions
Click on the questions below to see the relevant answer
Contact the selected venue using the details provided explaining that you are a CERN employee and they should offer the relevant discount.
Yes, definitely. The recommendations are entirely optional, and you can select any place you like.
CERN is exempt from VAT in both Switzerland and France for official purchases, but the mechanism applies differently. While the Swiss exemption occurs directly at source (meaning VAT is not charged on the invoice), the French exemption functions via a reimbursement process where the supplier charges VAT upfront, and CERN claims it back later. This special tax status is strictly tied to official CERN purchase orders or contracts.
No. The current contractors were selected through an official call for tenders for a fixed two-year duration. Consequently, you are required to utilize these pre-approved vendors and strictly follow standard CERN procurement rules and processes.
MICE is a section under CERN Procurement and Industrial Services Group: they are responsible for the procurement of all events required by the CERN departments and experiments. MICE also oversees contractual issues and provides advice on the sourcing strategies. They provide help for the organisation of seminars, events, dinners and accommodation. They prospect new suppliers and are in charge of contract negotiation.
Ideally, as soon as the date of the event is fixed (even before if possible), but MICE can also adapt in case of short notice event.
“Yes” as in any case we could provide advice or key-contacts. MICE has negotiated contracts with several Hotels on both sides of the border. Therefore, should the seminar take place in Haute Savoie, Pays de Gex, Geneva or Vaud, it is mandatory to book one of the venues on the list available here. The activity code to be used is 14050400.
In case of the selection of a provider outside the contract, it is mandatory to follow CERN purchasing rules. You can either search an accommodation on your own (following CERN purchasing rules) or ask MICE to
do it.
MICE has negotiated contracts on a 2 year basis with some hotels, which guarantee the same rate all year round, hence you won’t have the possibility to choose another hotel (as explained above, it might have exceptions).
You can send the information about the hotel you have found to the MICE team and we will contact them directly to see whether we could get a contract. In addition to this we will negotiate with the current contractors in the area to realign prices.
MICE will negotiate a general package with the supplier, but you can directly contact them should you have specific requests for your event.
Deposits are not usually paid following agreements with venues during negotiations. For further queries, contact the MICE team.