Partnering with Public Spaces for Events

Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York have taken much direction from Amsterdam, Paris and other European cities who have coveted outdoor park spaces for its city dwellers.

While in NYC the car-free areas in Times Square, Meatpacking, Madison Square Park and others are still in the development stages they are becoming increasingly attractive for event locations. It truly is a win-win partnership to open up these areas for promotions and events because it brings a revenue stream to the city to help offset the cost of maintaining these areas, and it gives the event planners a guaranteed audience and visibility for their promotions.

According to the NY Times, since May, the spaces have already been used 20 times for events. In order to use these spaces all an event planner has to do is work with the city departments that manage each of the open areas. So for instance, the stretch between Macy's and Herald Square Park, use 34th Street Partnership (they work with the Street Activity Permit Office and NY Police Department) to get all necessary permits.

Partnering with Technology to Streamline Business- VIRTUAL

I first saw the Microsoft Surface Technology at the Visitor Center in NYC. It was a fabulous tool to be able to map out walking tours, know what places were around a particular area and just get a chance to interact quickly with a map.



This technology which was demoed last year is quickly expanding, providing companies like Sheraton an easier way to provide concierge services to its customers.

Sheraton has installed Microsoft Surface Virtual Concierge 30-inch tables in the lobbies of five locations: Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco. Applications include CityTips with attractions, eateries, shopping, maps, and transportation; a digital jukebox; and SheratonSnapshots, a library of photos of Sheraton resorts.

Not that we want to be eliminating jobs right now, but partnering with high tech companies can help you streamline your business-providing a better customer experience in a more efficient manner.