Why here?
With its ever-growing roster of new hotels, restaurants, event spaces and entertainment offerings, New York City does not disappoint. Groups of all sizes will find plenty of options for meetings and events in Manhattan (pictured) and the other boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.
VENUE NEWS
• Pier Sixty, which overlooks the Hudson River and Chelsea Piers marina in Manhattan, has unveiled Current, an event space offering 6,000 flexible square feet for up to 360 people.
• In Manhattan's West SoHo neighborhood, Skylight Clarkson Square has debuted with approximately 60,000 square feet of event space in six studios that can be combined to accommodate up to 2,000 guests.
ROOM BOOM
New York City has the most active hotel pipeline in the country. By 2019, the city is expected to have 133,000 total hotel rooms. One of the newest properties is the Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel.
NEW YORK CITY
Local Update
• Slated to open this summer is the 185-room Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown. The hotel, a block away from the World Trade Center, will have approximately 6,800 square feet of meeting space, including a 2,943-square-foot ballroom. Also on-site will be CUT by Wolfgang Puck, the celebrity chef's first restaurant in New York City.
• The 704-room InterContinental New York Barclay has unveiled the fruits of a $180 million renovation. The Manhattan property, which was built in 1926, was closed during the 20-month facelift. Among the enhancements are a new open lobby with a grand staircase; redesigned guest rooms and suites; a refurbished Club InterContinental, and an upgraded 15,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel's new Gin Parlour bar, inspired by Dutch and English gin bars of the 1920s, features 88 premium gins, as well as a new menu featuring locally sourced foods.
• The 287-room Beekman, originally built in 1881 as one of the first skyscrapers in Manhattan, is set to debut this month as a Thompson Hotels property. It will have 4,700 square feet of private meeting and event space, including rooms such as the Farnsworth, with a capacity for up to 135 attendees; the Kelly, which can accommodate 125; and the Cellar Level space, for receptions of up to 300. Also on-site will be restaurants by Tom Colicchio and Keith McNally.
• The 348-room Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel, designed by Jeffrey Beers, has debuted in Manhattan. The property features a four-story LED clock on the roof and 4,500 square feet of meeting and lounge space that can accommodate up to 250 attendees.
• The 873-room Westin New York at Times Square has unveiled a $33 million top-to-bottom renovation. The hotel has 34,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.
• Convene, the New York City-based developer of meeting venues, is set to open a Midtown Manhattan property in October that will host up to 500 people. The day conference center, on West 46th Street in the shadow of Times Square, will feature a boutique lobby café. This follows the recent opening of Convene at Park Avenue, a conference venue with eight meeting rooms.
Sky-high
At 860 feet above Manhattan,
Riviera at the World Trade Center offers 34,000 square feet of column-free space -- of course with stunning views -- that can be customized for almost any kind of meeting or event.
BROADWAY BOUND
Tickets to Hamilton might be nearly impossible to score, but Broadway has many other fine plays and musicals to delight delegates this year, including Waitress, Bright Star, She Loves Me, Blackbird and Eclipsed. For a full listing, as well as ticket information, go here.
Meeting Hotels: Major meeting properties in the heart of Manhattan include the 1,981-room New York Hilton-Midtown,1,946-room New York Marriott Marquis, 1,781-room Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, 1,413-room Waldorf Astoria, 1,311-room Grand Hyatt New York, 1,015-room Roosevelt Hotel and 873-room Westin New York at Times Square.
To find and compare hotels, and send RFPs, go to mcvenues.com.
Convention center: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center; exhibit space, approximately 840,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 102; (212) 216-2000
Airport transit: John F. Kennedy International Airport, 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Transfer cost by taxi, $52.50 plus tolls
LaGuardia Airport, about eight miles from Midtown Manhattan. Transfer cost by taxi, $29-$37 plus tolls
Newark Liberty International Airport, 16 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Transfer cost by taxi, $50 to $75, plus tolls
Taxes: Room tax, 5.875% plus $3.50 per room, per night; sales tax, 8.875%; total tax on hotel rooms, 14.75% plus $3.50 per room, per night
Group Venue: The Museum of the City of New York, which features colorful exhibits celebrating the Big Apple's history and art, has an elegant rotunda that can accommodate up to 350 guests for cocktail receptions or 160 guests for dinner. Connected to the space is Marble Court, which can seat up to 150 guests for banquet or a 250 for receptions. (212) 534-1672
Contact: NYC & Company, (212) 484-1200