An inspirational trip to New York
In February we received a lovely enquiry from a strategic creative agency based in Utrecht. Because they are going to open a new agency in New York, they wanted to take the whole company on an inspirational trip to this always vibrant destination in the month of September. The aim of the trip: to let all 40 employees feel the energy of this city! It was important that the participants would get a WOW feeling about the city itself and about the business-like nature and professionalism of the city.
Off to the Big Apple
Following a successful preliminary process, in which goMICE paid attention to the smallest details and there was continuous consultation with the client, the time had come on a Wednesday at the end of September: New York here we come! After the group sang happy birthday to the CEO at Schiphol and everyone was provided with an NY Yankees cap, I flew to JFK with half the group. The other half of the group followed an hour later; for risk mitigation reasons, the client had chosen to fly out and back in two groups. goMICE always proactively presents this option to a client, and of course it is up to the client what they choose.
After just under 8 hours of flying, the groups arrived in sunny New York at around 1 PM local time, so we still had the whole afternoon ahead of us! After a short transfer, the participants stepped off the coach in one of Brooklyn's hippest neighbourhoods: DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).
Brooklyn Bridge
An enormous American doughnut and many photographs later, a walk across the 1.8-kilometre-long Brooklyn Bridge followed. Meanwhile, our regular local contact and guide told us a lot about the living habits of New Yorkers and the surrounding area. Fun fact: to convince sceptical New Yorkers of the bridge's strength, a parade of 21 elephants (!) was made to march across it in 1884.
The closer we got to Manhattan, the bigger the buildings became. Inormously impressive to walk into Manhattan together like that with the whole company! At the end of the bridge, the coach was ready again to take the group to an exceptional 4-star hotel, located less than 500 metres from the world-famous Times Square. At each travel we organise, it is important that the hotel offered is of good quality and suits the group's wishes, naturally within the set budget. During a previous group trip to New York earlier this year, Nadia and I specifically selected and inspected this hotel for this group to ensure that it was a good match for them.
A special dinner
After a quick refresher and a drink at the hip and happening hotel bar, we rounded off the day with dinner at a unique location: Ellen’s Stardust Diner. A special spot indeed, because what makes this place unique is that the waitstaff sing. For most of the waiters and waitresses, Ellen’s is a stepping stone to starring in a Broadway musical. All in all, a great first day of the trip!
Enjoying impressive activities together
Over the following days, the group thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Alongside a number of business meetings and corporate visits, many activities were on the agenda. For instance, the group went boot camp training in Central Park led by a very muscular instructor, and the city was explored via a custom-designed (and therefore unique and personal) City Game created by the company itself.
One of the highlights of the trip was a 1.5-hour speedboat tour.
In the same speedboats that CNN deploys when there is breaking news, the group enjoyed the spectacular view. It remains special to sail under the bridges and admire the Statue of Liberty from just a few metres away! Naturally, we at goMICE had ensured that the speedboats were adorned with our client's corporate logo. It’s all in the details!
Unique dinners
In the evenings, dinners at special locations were on the agenda; dinner was served on a rooftop including a vineyard in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and a shared dinner was enjoyed at one of the most sought-after restaurants in NYC.
Normally this restaurant does not accept bookings for groups of more than 30 people, but because we have collaborated with this restaurant several times with great pleasure, they made an exception for this group!
Naturally, later in the evening the nightlife was also thoroughly explored and little sleep was had in the City That Never Sleeps.
Trump in town!
We always recommend our groups to use few bus transfers and to make as much use as possible of the most popular means of transport among New Yorkers: the subway. On this trip, too, using Metrocards was a good choice. After all, the subway is safe, convenient, runs 24/7, and our experience shows that the subway is many times faster than the bus.
This week the map came in very handy: due to massive crowds in the city combined with many road closures, Manhattan was gridlocked for a large part of the time. The reason for this hustle and bustle was the fact that President Trump and a large number of world leaders were in town in connection with the United Nations General Assembly. Incidentally, we unfortunately didn't catch a glimpse of Trump. ?
Mission complete
We consider it very important to include a number of moments of rest and free time in the itinerary alongside a unique programme.
Often there are specific landmarks that participants want to visit independently, or they like to buy souvenirs for those back home, or simply sit down and enjoy a nice pavement café. On the final day, participants were therefore able to enjoy the sights New York has to offer at their own leisure.
After a final joint gathering with a spectacular view of the Empire State Building, the participants flew back to Amsterdam in two groups, landing on Sunday morning both tired and full of new energy. Mission complete!
Want to know more about our trips?
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Client quote:
Rogier IJzermans, CEO:
You were amazing Lotte, seriously! Next time I'll definitely come back to you. Thought it was really brilliantly organised, with all the details that I consider important included. Really great! We had a wonderful time!
Photo credits: Iris van den Broek and Frederik Pot