Plan Your 2013 Golf Meeting or Incentive Now

With the New York area having just hosted the first leg of the FedEx Cup at Bethpage Black, you might be thinking, "Let's include championship golf as part of our next corporate incentive trip." 

It's a great thought, but you need to start planning for next year and beyond right now.

While Bethpage Black is one of the most exclusive courses in the world to book, Bethpage Red - also part of Bethpage State Park - has been called by the PGA Tour's official site "a strong number two pitcher" to its sister course.  It's so challenging that the USGA was close to using the 18th on the Red Course as the finishing hole of the 2009 US Open. 

But with so many options, why worry about going all or nothing for one course?  The New York City area boasts hundreds of tour-level golf courses, and visitors may not realize that most venues feature beautiful rolling hills or ocean-front links on multiple holes.  The spectacular views, including that of the Manhattan skyline from several of the area's top courses, speak for themselves.

It's not a surprise that Golf Digest has ranked 13 venues within a 2-hour drive of Manhattan in its 2011-2012 list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses.

Watching Major Champions

The Barclays is held is each year in late August at a New York-area golf venue and two upcoming major championships - the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol and the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock - are great opportunities for groups to see the best players in the world compete up-close.


Fria's Head Golf Course on Long Island

Tavern on the Green Gets a New Life

The slow and sad and demise of Tavern on the Green is over!

The famed restaurant's, new owners, The Emerald Group, are plan to revitalize the venue with outdoor seating up to 300 people and a reputation of serving the best French crepes on the East Coast 150 miles away in Phildelphia's bustling South Street district. 

The executive chef will be a seasoned New Yorker, Katy Sparks, who has worked at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, Bolo and the Quilted Giraffe and was the executive chef for catering company Great Performances.

It's good to see an iconic venue springing back to life with a bright future!

New on Broadway: Jake Gyllenhaal

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal is coming to Off-Broadway for a limited engagement of If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet.  The show began over the weekend at off-Broadway's Laura Pels Theatre. Directed by Michael Longhurst, the play will officially open on September 20, and is set to play a limited engagement through November 25. The cast also features Annie Funke, Michelle Gomez and Brian F. O’Byrne.

If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet is the story of Anna (Funke), a teenager who is bullied at school because of her weight. When Anna’s mom transfers her to the school where she teaches in order to protect her daughter, it only makes things worse. Just as Anna is suspended for retaliating against her bullies, her estranged uncle Terry (Gyllenhaal) arrives unannounced. Terry, a heartbroken drifter with the mouth of a sailor, connects with Anna in a way no one else ever has.

Heard the Brooklyn Buzz?

Heard the Brooklyn Buzz? Shackman Associates has and we bring to you the latest on the fall opening of New York’s newest landmark – the Barclays Center – located in the vibrant borough of Brooklyn, home of the new Brooklyn Nets and host of over 200 live entertainment and sporting events each year. 

Jay Z will hit the stage with a series of eight (sold-out!) concerts – and upcoming acts this fall include Barbara Streisand, Justin Beiber and Andrea Bocelli to name just a few.  On November 1st the Brooklyn Nets will go head to head with their new rival, the New York Knicks as their first game of the season.

With multiple event space options, this entertainment and sporting arena is New York’s new versatile venue in the hip borough of Brooklyn. Let Shackman Associates guide you in hosting your next event at the new Barclays Center.

Dear Politicians: Don't Let the GSA Scandal Devalue Meetings

It’s ironic that the same politicians who have, since 2009, attacked corporate meetings paved the way for the GSA to spend freely at a minimum of 77 conferences.

This blog isn’t going to discuss the legitimacy of GSA meetings, but the venues that host them are a vital part of the economy.  The Meetings and Conference industry adds billions of dollars to the US GDP and employs millions of hospitality workers.

According to a recent study by the Financial and Insurance Conference Planners (FICP), the annual collective-buying power of FICP member organizations ranges between $659 million and $913 million. The study of 91 FICP planner members, which was conducted in March, also reveals that 95 percent of those polled have average annual meeting budgets of $3 million, spend $900,000 for their largest annual event and planned approximately 95 meetings in 2011. In other findings, 95 percent of respondents expect their budgets to increase or remain flat in 2013, and 21 percent expect an increase in the size of their meeting planning teams next year.  (Meetings and Conventions Magazine – July 8, 2012) 

The $800,000 the GSA spent in Las Vegas is about average for a large conference.

However, since the financial crisis of 2008, corporate meetings have found creative ways to stretch budgets and even add serious business elements to destination incentives.  This category of meeting is traditionally a luxury experience reward for top company performers.  For example, destination meetings we have managed in New York saved thousands of dollars by piggybacking food and AV with other meetings at a hotel.  They sometimes cut luxury itineraries in favor of open downtime.  

Most notably, corporate meeting attendees have not shown up on YouTube sipping top-shelf champagne in Las Vegas penthouses.  In fact, the opposite is true.  At Shackman Associates, we have helped meetings appropriately stay under-the-radar during the challenging financial climate and include economic development tours and “give-back” programs in the local community in New York City.

Destinations like Las Vegas and New York have finally bounced back after several years of unhelpful and uneducated criticism by politicians in Washington.  Let’s hope that going forward, government meetings use some of the cost-saving strategies corporate meetings have been using for the past 4 years.