Visiting New York
Advice from the Concierges who help hotel guests every day, and the hotels where you will find them.
What to expect from a member Concierge
Every member signs the association's Ethics and Professional Standards. This is what the standards ask of the Concierge who looks after you.
Advice that fits you
What suits one guest may not suit another, so members listen first and learn what you like before they recommend.
Your request in writing
Members offer a written confirmation of what they arrange for you, and they answer messages promptly.
Fees named up front
You hear about any surcharge or service fee on tickets and other requests before you agree.
Seats and dress codes, in detail
With tickets comes the seat location, including anything that blocks the view. With a table comes the dress code, when there is one.
A straight answer
Members promise only what they are certain they can deliver, and tactfully decline a request that is illegal or unethical.
Your privacy
Members respect and protect the identity and confidentiality of every guest.
How to work with your Concierge
A Concierge can do the most for you when they hear from you early and know what you like.
Step 1: Write before you arrive
The more time your Concierge has, the more they can arrange. Ask your hotel how to reach its Concierge desk once your stay is booked.
Step 2: Say what matters to you
Share your dates, the size of your party, what you like and what you would rather avoid, your budget, any special occasion, and anything that would make getting around easier.
Step 3: Ask for what you have in mind
Tables, theater and sports tickets, a car, a plan for your days: members take on every request, so long as it is ethical, legal and humanly possible.
Step 4: Come back to the desk
Plans change. During your stay, your Concierge can move a table, find other seats or send a car.
Questions guests ask
The questions our members answer every day, by topic. For anything else, ask the Concierge at your hotel.
Dining
How far ahead should I book dinner or a show?
As early as you can. The most popular restaurants open their books on a set schedule, often one to four weeks ahead, and the best times go quickly. A member Concierge can sometimes secure tables and tickets that look sold out.
Source: Time Out New York.
When do New Yorkers eat dinner?
Earlier than many visitors expect. Lately, 6 to 7 pm has been the most booked dinner hour in the city. Most Broadway evening shows start at 7 or 8 pm, so if you are seeing a show, book an early table near the theater.
Sources: OpenTable's bookings, in Time Out New York and Broadway.com.
What if my plans change?
Tell your Concierge as soon as you know. Some restaurants hold a table with a card and charge a fee for a late cancellation or a missed booking. A member Concierge tells you about any such charge when they book.
Source: OpenTable.
Theater and tickets
Can a Concierge find tickets to a show that is sold out?
Sometimes. Members use their connections and resources to find seats that look sold out. They tell you the price, with any surcharge or service fee, before you agree, and where the seats are, including anything that blocks the view.
Where can I find theater tickets at a discount?
Twice a year, in winter and in September, NYC Broadway Week offers two tickets for the price of one. All year, the TKTS booths in Times Square and at Lincoln Center sell tickets for same-day shows and next-day matinees at up to 50 percent off. Your Concierge knows what is on sale during your stay.
Dates and shows: NYC Broadway Week and TKTS by TDF.
Getting around
What is the best way to hail a cab?
Look at the light on the roof of a yellow taxi. When the number is lit, the taxi is available, so step to the curb and raise your hand. When it is dark, the taxi has a passenger or is off duty. You can also call a taxi with an app the city licenses, and your Concierge can arrange a car service, by the trip or by the hour.
Sources: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, the roof light and its fares and licensed apps.
How do I pay on the subway and the buses?
Tap a contactless card, a phone or a watch at the turnstile or on the bus. There is nothing to buy first, and MetroCards are no longer sold. Use the same card or device for every ride. Your first tap starts a seven-day period, and once your fares in it reach the weekly cap, the rest of those seven days are free on subways and local buses.
Sources: MTA, the weekly fare cap and MTA, the end of MetroCard sales.
How do I get from the airport to my hotel?
By taxi, by train or by a car booked ahead. A yellow taxi between JFK and Manhattan charges a flat fare plus tolls and surcharges. Take a taxi only from the official taxi stand outside the terminal, and ignore anyone who offers you a ride inside. Your Concierge can book a car to meet you, so write before you fly.
Every way into the city: the airports' own pages. Sources: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission and JFK's taxi stands.
Your Concierge
Do Concierges take commissions?
Not NYCAHC members. Every year they pledge never to take commissions or join contests tied to the business they send. They recommend what suits you, not what pays.
How do I know I am asking the hotel's own Concierge?
Ask who runs the desk. At a member hotel, an NYCAHC Concierge serves the hotel's guests and takes no commission on what they recommend. Some desks in hotel lobbies are run by outside companies that sell tours and tickets, and their advice may follow what they earn.
Can a Concierge help with more than restaurants and shows?
Yes. Tables and tickets are only the start. Members plan your days, arrange cars and take on every request, so long as it is ethical, legal and humanly possible.
Tipping
Should I tip my Concierge?
Gratuities are appreciated, never required. The amount depends on the hotel, on how much your Concierge did and on how hard the request was.
Who else do I tip, and how much?
Many service workers in New York count on gratuities as part of their pay. At your hotel, that means bell staff, door staff and housekeeping. In the city, it means restaurant servers, bartenders, taxi and car drivers, and hair, nail and beauty services. The customary amounts are in Tipping in New York.
Source: NYC Tourism + Conventions.
Is the tip already on my bill?
Sometimes. Many restaurants add a gratuity of 18 or 20 percent for a large party, usually six or more, and a restaurant without tipping may add a service charge instead. Read the bill before you add more, and ask your Concierge when in doubt.
Source: NYC Tourism + Conventions.
Tipping in New York
Many service workers in New York count on gratuities as part of their pay. These are the customary amounts, as the city's tourism office publishes them. Your Concierge can tell you what fits the occasion.
Bell staff: $1 to $2 a bag
When your bags are carried to your room or back to the car.
Door staff: $2 to $5
For hailing you a taxi.
Housekeeping: $3 to $5 a day
For each day of your stay, and more at a luxury hotel.
Your Concierge: Appreciated, never required
The amount depends on the hotel, on how much your Concierge did and on how hard the request was.
Restaurant servers: 18 to 20 percent
Of the bill, when you dine in.
Bartenders: $1 a drink or more
Or 18 to 20 percent when you run a tab.
Taxi and car drivers: 15 to 20 percent
Of the fare, in a taxi or a ride booked by app.
Hair, nails and beauty: 15 to 20 percent
Of the cost of the service.
Source: NYC Tourism + Conventions, Tipping and sales tax. Checked October 11, 2026.
The New York year
What is on in the city, month by month. Dates change from year to year, and your Concierge knows this year's and how early to book.
January
Restaurant Week brings prix fixe menus to hundreds of restaurants, and Broadway Week offers two tickets for the price of one. Both run into February.
February
Designers show their fall collections at Fashion Week. After Lunar New Year, lion and dragon dancers parade through Chinatown, some years in early March.
March
The St. Patrick's Day Parade, held since 1762, marches up Fifth Avenue. Baseball returns to the Bronx and Queens in late March or early April.
April
The cherry trees bloom in Central Park and at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. On Easter Sunday, in late March or April, the Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival fills Fifth Avenue.
May
The art world comes to Frieze New York, and the Five Boro Bike Tour sends some 32,000 cyclists through all five boroughs on streets closed to cars.
June
The Tony Awards, Broadway's biggest night, and the Tribeca Festival share the month with the Pride March, on its last Sunday. Free Shakespeare in the Park plays in Central Park through the summer.
July
Macy's fireworks light the skyline on the Fourth, and the summer Restaurant Week begins.
August
The US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, fills Flushing Meadows, in Queens, from late August into September.
September
Broadway Week returns with its two-for-one tickets. Late in the month the United Nations General Assembly closes streets on the East Side, and Midtown traffic is the slowest of the year.
October
Open House New York Weekend opens buildings usually closed to the public, most of them free. The Village Halloween Parade ends the month.
November
The TCS New York City Marathon crosses all five boroughs on the first Sunday, and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade comes down from Central Park West on Thanksgiving morning.
December
The Rockefeller Center tree is lit on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving, holiday markets fill Union Square, Columbus Circle and Bryant Park, and the ball drops in Times Square at midnight on New Year's Eve.
Sources: NYC Tourism + Conventions, NYC Restaurant Week, NYC Broadway Week, the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Central Park Conservancy, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Bike New York, NYC Department of Transportation and Open House New York. Checked October 11, 2026.
Businesses that serve hotel guests
The association's corporate members, from views and tours to cars and tickets. Most pay the association a yearly fee. A listing comes with that membership and is not an endorsement or a guarantee of a business's services. 44 businesses hold corporate membership today.
Views & attractions
Mercer Labs, One World Observatory, Rockefeller Center, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, The Empire State Building
Tours & cruises
Big Apple Charters, Classic Harbor Line, Extraordinary New York, Live Like NYC, Lots of Yachts, New York Historical Tours, On Location Tours, Romancing Manhattan Tours, and 1 more
Cars, jets & helicopters
Charm Aviation, Charter Jet One, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Honest Jets, RealCar, Relier Transportation
Dining & shopping
Dbora Cosmetics, Graff, Hard Rock Cafe Times Square, Harry Potter Shop New York, LDV Hospitality, Macy's Herald Square, Madison Avenue BID, Nordstrom, and 2 more
Health & wellness
Allure Spa, Elite Nursing, Family Care Options, Federico Salon, Revitalyze Drips, Rosenberg Wellness Center
Tickets & services
Carpenters, City Guide, Lightspeed Express, Next Act 2 Follow, NYC Tourism, Sapphire New York, Shields Flowers & Events, The Outsiders
If something goes wrong
In an emergency, call 911. For everything else, start at the Concierge desk. Your Concierge has seen it before and knows whom to call. Below are the official places to turn to.
You left something in a taxi
Ask for a receipt on every ride, because it helps find the cab. To report the item, call 311, or 212-NEW-YORK from outside New York.
Report lost property to the Taxi and Limousine CommissionYou lost your passport
Your country's consulate replaces it, and many countries have one in New York. The city lists many of them, with their addresses and hours.
Consulates in New York, from NYC311You need a doctor
In an emergency, call 911. For anything less, your Concierge can point you to a doctor, an urgent care center or a pharmacy nearby. The city's public hospitals also see patients by video, day and night, while you are in New York State.
Virtual ExpressCare, from NYC Health + HospitalsYour flight is delayed or canceled
Your airline handles rebooking and has the latest on your flight. Tell your Concierge, who can reschedule your car and your plans. The airports' own sites show arrivals, departures and every way into the city.
JFK, LaGuardia and Newark, from the Port AuthorityThe subway is not running as usual
Lines change at night and on weekends. The MTA shows what is running now, and your Concierge knows the way around a closed station.
Service status, from the MTAAnything else in the city
For city services and questions that are not emergencies, call 311, or 212-NEW-YORK from outside New York. It answers day and night, in more than 175 languages.
NYC311
Checked against the official sources above on October 11, 2026.
Member hotels
Hotels where NYCAHC member Concierges serve guests. Choose a neighborhood to see its hotels.
1 hotel in Beyond Manhattan