A colleague taking another delegate’s place can appear to be a simple name change. For transport, it may also change the phone number, luggage, collection location and the person authorised to approve the fare. Treat the substitution as a short review of the existing booking. This preserves useful arrangements while making sure the arriving passenger actually receives the instructions meant for them.
Identify the booking being amended
Start the message with the journey reference, travel date and booked pickup. State clearly that the new person replaces the original passenger; otherwise dispatch may interpret the message as an additional traveller. If several colleagues have similar journeys, include the destination too. Ask for a revised confirmation rather than assuming a change in a company spreadsheet has reached the transport team.
Consider a replacement who is already in Davos while the original traveller was coming from Zurich. Reusing the old confirmation with only a new name would retain the wrong collection address. Reviewing the location and travel date alongside the name catches this kind of error before it reaches the passenger or driver.
Collect the replacement passenger’s usable contact
Provide a mobile number that the new traveller will have on the day, including the country code. Check whether they can read the language used in the current pickup instructions. Forward the agreed meeting details and ask them to acknowledge receipt. Do not rely on the original passenger to relay last-minute messages while travelling elsewhere or attending another meeting.
Recheck the practical load
The replacement may bring more cases, a display tube or an accompanying colleague. Confirm the complete party and luggage before retaining the vehicle category. Also review the endpoint: someone joining a different hotel or attending another reception may need a new drop-off. A substitution should not quietly turn a direct trip into a multi-stop service without a revised arrangement.
Separate event permissions from transport
Conference registration, hotel reservations and WEF-related access permissions belong to the relevant organisers and authorities. Changing the passenger name on a transport request does not transfer any of those permissions. Ask the new traveller to confirm their own attendance and entry instructions. Where access affects the drop-off, pass the practical instructions to dispatch without sending unnecessary identification documents.
Close the original passenger’s communication loop
Tell the original delegate that their transport has been reassigned and remove obsolete reminders where your team controls them. Keep the booking reference associated with the updated traveller in the expense record. Confirm who remains responsible for payment and approval. The final message should contain a single passenger list and one current contact, so neither driver nor organiser has to reconstruct the change from a long conversation.
Questions about this journey
Is replacing a passenger the same as adding one?
No. State explicitly whether the original traveller is removed or remains in the group.
Will an event badge transfer with the booking?
No. Event access must be resolved separately with the organiser.
Can the original company still pay?
Ask dispatch to retain or amend the agreed billing arrangement and confirm the responsible contact.