Planners Escaping The Box

<B> Planners Escaping The Box</B>

By Frank Rosci

Given New York's almost limitless choice of meeting venues, planners--barring client restrictions--can explore a slew of fresh ideas among a variety of properties that deviate from the conventional in-hotel assortment.

Ina Lee Selden, president of Manhattan Passport in New York, said there are hundreds of possibilities in her company's portfolio--a list that includes everything from private clubs to department stores. The hardest part of the process, she acknowledged, is trying to convince clients to go outside the traditional meeting box.

"Quite often, planners are convinced absolutely that they must have a hotel for three days and pay overnight charges to have a successful meeting. We try to get them to think differently because no good ideas were ever born in windowless rooms," Selden said.

Planners often don't try a new and unusual venue because they simply can't picture it, can't see that it works or that it has the power to inspire their people. When they do, the results can be hugely successful, sometimes at half the cost of a hotel-based meeting, according to Selden.

Out-of-the-ordinary venues she has used for her corporate and incentive clients include Le Train Bleu at Bloomingdale's, private apartments and a boat that cruises the Hudson. Le Train Bleu, a nickname for the Calais-Mediterranee Express, is a recreation of a luxury dining car popular in Europe in the 1870s. The restaurant overlooks a view of the 59th Street Queensboro Bridge.

Selden also has considered using the meeting space at Ellis Island, which includes a conference room that accommodates up to 75 attendees. The year-round space, administered by the National Park Service, rents for $50 per hour, based on a five-hour minimum, said a spokeswoman. Overall, Selden said, the cost is much less expensive than a hotel meeting.

While selecting a site can be difficult amidst the quantity of eclectic choices, it ultimately depends on satisfying the client, said Karen M. Shackman, president of New York-based Shackman Associates International.

Selden agreed, advising planners to make onsite visits when checking out first-time venues. "It's important to remember that when customizing a space for clients there will be factors, such as mandatory security checks at the United Nations and questions about whether or not men should be wearing jackets at a particular site, that will have to be addressed," she said.

<B>Anticipation A Must</B>

Staff at an unusual site also will have to be briefed about the upcoming meeting or special event since it's probably not in the usual realm of things that happen there, Selden said. She also noted an advantage of hotels over unusual venues: Last-minute requests for necessary items, such as a mike stand, usually can be handled quickly, whereas at an unusual site such an item might not be as readily available. A possible solution, she said, is to try to anticipate and discuss with staff what you will need as early as possible in the process.

Anthony Napoli, president of Briggs Red Carpet Associates, said there are several factors to consider when researching a venue, including references, appearances and always meeting face to face with either the owner or manager. "We have to wed the space to the clients and in New York we have a vast choice of what to give them," he said. "Per person costs in Manhattan run between $125 and $175, and these costs are generally higher than elsewhere in the country."

Napoli uses a number of unusual sites in New York, including the Milk Studio, a well-known fashion shoot venue in SoHo. "It's a big space that holds between 300 and 400 people, and one that lends itself well to corporate events," Napoli said. "It's a setting that would appeal to a more sophisticated group."

Another unusual site is Sky in Greenwich Village, said Napoli, which is the home of an architect who rents out parts of the house. The three-level home has a glassed-in area and a rooftop swimming pool, and its various spaces accommodate up to 50 people.

A third favorite venue of Napoli's clients, which include corporations such as GE, IBM and Bell Atlantic, is the townhouse of Jackie Kennedy Onassis' former chef. "A group of up to 30 can be accommodated here in an ambiance that is unique," he said. Napoli also uses various museums around town.

Meanwhile, Shackman has recommended the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on the Hudson River, an Essex Class aircraft carrier built during World War II, decommissioned in March 1974 and reborn as a museum in August 1982. The museum offers 108,000 square feet of space in five areas for functions, ranging in size from 15 to 4,000 attendees. Rates range between $5,000 and $16,000.

According to the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau, other unusual meeting sites in New York include luxury boxes, which can be used for breakout sessions high above the playing floor at Madison Square Garden; comedy clubs such as Caroline's; nightclubs such as Webster Hall; and dinner and dance spots such as The Supper Club.

"These venues are among a growing number of nontraditional places that have begun hosting meetings during the day when the space is unused. It's a sign of how strong the city's meetings market is, how great the demand is for venues of all kinds," said a CVB spokesperson.

For clients preferring high-end meeting sites, the upscale SoHo Grand offers the redesigned Chart Room, Canal House and penthouses, which afford panoramic and pricy views from their outdoor terraces, and an unmatched array of configurations for small corporate conferences. The Chart Room accommodates up to 75 attendees; Canal House up to 60 for luncheons and dinners, and 100 for receptions; while the penthouses are well-suited for an intimate boardroom luncheon for six people or summer receptions using the outdoor terraces for up to 175.

A sister property, the 210-room TriBeCa Grand, with its 100-seat screening room, promises to be every bit as stylish when it opens in spring 2000. And The Dylan, a 108-room luxury boutique hotel with conference space for up to 75 persons, will open in the former Chemists' Club building in February 2000 (<I>BTN</I>, Sept. 6).

More of New York's deluxe, luxury meeting venues include the Millennium Broadway Hotel, which features the 730-seat Hudson Theatre (<I>BTN</I>, Sept. 6) and 33 dedicated conference rooms for 10 to 150 attendees; the upscale Avon Center in Trump Tower; and the Park Avenue Tower.