5 Client Entertainment Ideas in NYC

In the business of entertaining clients, the options in New York City are almost endless. Throughout the course of a business relationship, how you show appreciation or make an impact, can sometimes make or break a business deal.

Yet some ways to do this are almost expected. High-end clients can foresee dinner at a fancy restaurant, tickets to a Mets game, or any other number of typical “business outings.” Especially given that millennials often value novel experiences over fancy shows of wealth, taking a creative approach to entertaining business clients could be your best way of creating an impact with the changing business environment.

It’s your time to be proactive in setting yourself apart from the competition, especially when the race is hot for that next high-end business client. We’ve compiled five of the best client entertainment ideas in New York City, with an emphasis on creativity and thinking outside the box.

1. Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are quickly becoming a popular pastime for people who love a challenge. In many cases, leaders in the world of business make overcoming challenges a central part of their philosophy. What better way to feed that desire—and show you too can overcome obstacles in a creative and novel way—than diving into an escape room?

The important element of this particular experience is teamwork. Any successful and worthwhile client understands that entering into a contract is a relationship, where both sides need to offer their fullest to reach particular performance goals. While you and your client navigate through the various puzzles and obstacles in an escape room, you can show off your ability not only to work collaboratively with your prospect but that you can navigate uncertain circumstances alongside them.

For high-end clients, we suggest Escape Games NYC. With their immersive experiences and private booking capabilities, you can make the experience as intimate or team-worthy as you see fit. Right now they offer four different scenarios which, depending on which business or client you are pursuing, could align perfectly with the skills or creative endeavor you want to portray to them.

2. Treasure-Hunting

When courting a group of business clients, you want all hands on deck. For groups of nine or more, you want to show to each and every person—especially considering that if they are all there, they must all be a part of the ultimate decision—your capabilities as a leader and collaborator. For a creative challenge and a chance to see lots of what New York City has to offer, a city-wide treasure hunt could be your best bet.

The work being done at CityHunt gives you all of that and more. With over 15 famous locations throughout the city—including Times Square, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and so much more—this experience brings the iconicism and flash of New York and the opportunity to directly collaborate with your business clients together.

3. NYC Jet Ski Tour

New York City is one of the most iconic destinations on Earth, and with that comes the need to show it off in novel and interesting ways. A trip down Times Square and through the city’s underbelly on the subway are engaging, but what about a whole new perspective?

Sea the City offers a brand new approach to the New York City skyline—from the vantage point of its lifeblood, the Hudson River. Our jet ski tours offer something a swanky restaurant or an intimate theater date can’t for your business clients: a truly memorable image.

With our expertly-trained jet ski tour guides, entertaining your business clients has never been more memorable. Sea the City gives such novel experiences as the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and more a dash of flavor your clients will certainly never forget.

4. The Highline

New York is always changing, and alongside that is ways to see the city. The Highline, an open-air parkway snakes through much of the city, an excellent way to show your business clients a low-cost, high-engagement perspective of New York.

Private tours are available to offer exclusivity to your prospective business clients. As you pass between lower Manhattan and Midtown, the reclaimed railway passes through tons of amenities along the way, including The Standard Biergarten, the famous Chelsea Market, and Penn Station.

5. Pizza

All around the world people enjoy pizza, plain and simple. One oft-overlooked component of New York’s cultural wealth is its pizza—something that foreign clients especially will never forget.

Scott’s Pizza Tours opens the world of New York’s various neighborhoods to pizza lovers and new converts alike. Their flagship Pizza Bus Tour changes stop weekly through the heart of New York’s pizza diversity, among the neighborhoods of Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Other tours explore more in-depth various burroughs of the city, for that extra personal touch.