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
Your dates, how many are in your party, what you like, what you would rather avoid, a budget, a special occasion, anything that makes 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 the rest, ask the Concierge at your hotel.
Dining
How far ahead should I book dinner or a show?
As early as you can. Many popular restaurants open reservations a month ahead and fill within minutes. A member Concierge can sometimes secure tables and tickets that look sold out.
When do New Yorkers eat dinner?
Prime time is 7 to 9 pm. Near the Theater District, restaurants are busiest from about 5 to 7:15 pm; downtown, from 8 to 10 pm.
What if my plans change?
Tell your Concierge as soon as you know. Many restaurants hold a table with a card and charge for a late cancellation or a missed booking. A member Concierge tells you about any such charge when they book.
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 early fall, 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 the same day at a discount. 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: step to the curb and raise your hand. When it is dark, the taxi has a passenger or is off duty. Taxis also come by app, and your Concierge can arrange a car service, by the trip or by the hour.
Fares and the apps the city licenses: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.
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: once your fares reach the weekly cap, the rest of that week's rides are free.
Fares today: MTA subway and bus fares.
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 from the airport's own taxi line, never from someone who offers a ride inside the terminal. Your Concierge can book a car to meet you: write before you fly.
Every way into the city: the airports' own pages. Taxi fares: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.
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. A recommendation follows the guest, not a payout.
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, restaurant servers, bartenders, taxi and car drivers, and the staff of salons and spas. The customary amounts are in Tipping in New York.
Is the tip already on my bill?
Sometimes. A restaurant may add a gratuity for a large party, and a hotel may add a service charge to room service. Read the bill before you add more, and ask your Concierge when in doubt.
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.
Salons and spas: 15 to 20 percent
Of the cost of the service.
The New York year
What fills the city, month by month. Dates move from year to year: your Concierge knows this year's, and how early to book.
January
Restaurant Week and Broadway Week: prix fixe menus at hundreds of restaurants and two Broadway tickets for the price of one, into February.
February
Designers show their fall collections at Fashion Week, and dragon dancers lead the Lunar New Year parade.
March
The St. Patrick's Day Parade, the city's oldest and largest, marches along Fifth Avenue. Baseball returns to the Bronx and Queens around the end of the month.
April
The cherry trees bloom at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and in Central Park. On Easter Sunday, in March some years, the Easter Parade fills Fifth Avenue with bonnets.
May
The art world comes to Frieze New York, and the Five Boro Bike Tour sends 32,000 cyclists through the 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. Shakespeare in the Park begins its free summer season.
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 opens buildings usually closed to the public for free tours, and 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 stay open until Christmas Eve and the ball drops in Times Square on the 31st.
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. These are the official places to turn to.
You left something in a taxi
The number on your receipt finds the cab, so always ask for one. Report the item to the city: 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 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, and the city's public hospitals answer by video, day and night.
Virtual ExpressCare, from NYC Health + HospitalsYour flight is delayed or canceled
Your airline rebooks you. Tell your Concierge, who can change a car and what you had planned. The airports' own pages show delays and every way to the terminals.
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
Member hotels
Hotels where NYCAHC member Concierges serve guests. Choose a neighborhood to see its hotels.
5 hotels in Downtown