New York City MICE Industry Flourishes With New Product

Manhattan skyline with the new One World Trade Center tower.

With rising delegate numbers and hotel and venue development continuing at a rapid pace, NYC & Company, New York City’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization, provides an update on New York City news that is relevant to the meeting and events industries.

As a member of the U.S . Travel Association’s Meetings Mean Business Coalition, NYC & Company promotes meetings, incentives, conventions and events (MICE) industry travel to New York City, emphasizing the importance of face-to-face meetings and events throughout the five boroughs.

The number of meeting and convention delegates traveling to New York City has increased, with preliminary research showing that delegate visitation is up 5.9 million in 2013 — from 5.6 million in 201 — and delegate spending estimated at $5.0 billion — up from $4.7 billion in 2012. These figures are made up of domestic visitors traveling 50 miles or more and spending at least one night in the city, plus international delegates. China, the UK, Japan, France, Germany, Colombia and Brazil are among the top international markets for delegate travel to New York City.

“New York City is breaking visitation records year over year, and we are on track to receive more than 55 million visitors to the five boroughs during 2014,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company. “Meeting and convention delegates are incredibly important contributors to this ongoing success, and New York City continues to develop MICE product to accommodate these growing numbers.”

New York City ended 2013 with more than 500 hotels and more than 96,000 rooms as the city continued to expand its room inventory. This year has already seen a number of new openings adding an additional 1,000 rooms. There are 34 new properties currently scheduled to open later in 2014, which will take the city to approximately 104,500 rooms by year-end. Hotel development is planned for all five boroughs. Growing visitor figures kept hotel occupancy at over 87 percent during 2013 — the highest in the nation.

Hotel openings in 2014 include Be Hotel NYC, The Broome NYC, CitizenM, Crowne Plaza JFK, Hilton Garden Inn Central Park South, The Paper Factory Hotel, The Parc Hotel, The William Hotel and Wyndham New Yorker.

Upcoming openings for the remainder of 2014 include The Park Hyatt New York, a new build project on 57th Street close to the recently opened The Quin and The Viceroy hotels and the long-established Le Parker Meridien. The Knickerbocker Hotel, also projected to open this summer, will join the Leading Hotels of the World following its opening in a historic property by Times Square. Starwood will open its third Aloft branded hotel in Lower Manhattan, Aloft Financial District, while Hilton has multiple properties under development.

From ultramodern skyscrapers to historic houses, New York City has a wide range of venues across all five boroughs available to suit any group size, budget and style of event. Some recent and upcoming openings include:

• BRIC Arts / Media House opened its new 40,000-sf multi-disciplinary facility in the former Strand Theatre at 647 Fulton Street in Brooklyn in October 2013. BRIC House offers a variety of venues for events ranging up to 440 people.
• Convene opened its fourth New York City conference space, 101 Park Avenue, in the Grand Central Terminal vicinity, in January 2014.
• One World Observatory will open at One World Trade Center in spring of 2015. The Observatory will occupy floors 100–102, approximately 1,250 feet above street level, offering 360-degree views of New York City and the surrounding area.
• The Rainbow Room, an iconic New York City venue, is scheduled to reopen at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in the fall of 2014 — 80 years after the venue original opened in 1934. Its signature design elements, including the famed crystal chandelier and revolving dance floor, have been preserved. The venue can accommodate private events for up to 300 guests.
• Tavern on the Green, the landmark restaurant in Central Park, reopened at the end of April 2014 following a two-year refurbishment. Housed in a historic building constructed in 1870, the restaurant is available for private and corporate events for 10 to 1,000 guests.
• Wave Hill House, part of Wave Hill, a public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River in the Bronx, reopened in the summer of 2013 after undergoing transformative improvements to restore major portions of the historic mansion and provide state-of-the-art amenities for conferences and celebrations.

www.nycgo.com/meetingplanners