At the conclusion of my most recent blog, I questioned whether or not a prestigious ballroom was enough to make an event great. Just how important is the prestige of your chosen event space in the “success” of an event? Obviously you pay more for a venue that is in high demand, but in many cases a more prestigious venue is well worth the cost.
In the case of charity events, which are a very large part of our business at 583 Park Avenue and to a lesser degree at Guastavino’s, the venue must be accessible, festive without being garish and impressive to the charity’s constituents. In other words, the venue should be prestigious. Every charity is competing against one another for contributions and to entice guests to attend their events. If an event is at an out of the way venue, or one of dubious quality, it will negatively impact attendance. Time and again, charities that move to offbeat locations are rewarded with a serious drop off in attendance. Supporters vote with their feet, so to speak.
On the other hand, donors often recoil if they feel all the money is going to the party rather than the cause. An event’s guest of honor may have strong preference of where he or she would like to be honored. Some go for luxury and prestige, while others go for more humble or simple settings. Since in many cases the guest of honor is also the main attraction for attendees, his or her preference is law.
Due to size, logistics and prestige requirements, charities have three real options when it comes to choice of venue in New York: prestigious hotels, private clubs and freestanding historic venues. For the better part of the 20th century, hotels had a near monopoly on charity events, and only in the nineties did freestanding venues achieve the required status and situs for major events to even consider employing them to host. The first of these venues to open was 55 Wall Street (the former main office of Citibank), opened by my son Louis in 1996 during his time with the Cipriani Family. The venue’s success lead to the opening of The Bowery Savings Bank on 42nd Street, Capitale, another Bowery Savings Bank branch, Gotham Hall (an old HSBC Bank office), The Rainbow Room, and finally The Rose Group venues, Guastavino’s and 583 Park Avenue, both historic buildings and New York City landmarks.
Corporate parties, weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and miscellaneous private events are a different story. They are far less restricted in their possibilities for three reasons:
1) Attendance is often required due to personal relationships
2) No one is paying to attend
3) The guest(s) of honor, or their parents, are in charge of handling and paying for their own booking.
A status location is not a requirement and may not even be appropriate. So is it worth it to spend more money to be at a prestigious venue? Well for one thing, it’s easier. These places are fully equipped to produce your event, you do not have to grapple with the problem of renting equipment, they can be less costly to decorate (unless you decide to reinvent the place) and, in general, the staff are more professional.
At the end of the day, it is not the location that makes the party but the guests who attend and the spirit they bring with them. Top tier places just make it a hell of a lot easier for you to provide your guests with everything they need to enjoy themselves.
Herbert Rose is Director Emeritus at GUASTAVINO’S and 583 Park Avenue. He has over 40 years of experience as Director of Catering at New York’s finest venues.
Have a question for Herbert? CONTACT US today and he will be happy to address it in a future post.