Travel Bug: Times Square

I got your New Year's Eve party, pal -- right here!

Confetti flew at last year's New Year's bash in Times Square

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By Rob Lenihan
CNNfn Staff Writer

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - So where are you going to be on New Year's Eve?

It's the question everyone is asking at this time of year, and at least half-a-million people are going to have the same answer: Times Square.

It has been dubbed the "Crossroads of the World," and on New Year's Eve, this intersection in New York City certainly feels that way.

Yes, it's a mob scene, yes, you'd have to be crazy to push into those crammed streets with all the bodies, noise and general insanity, but every time Dec. 31 rolls around, you never hear anyone complain about low turnout.

"Times Square has become in the mind of the world the quintessential place to celebrate New Year's Eve," said Nell Barrett, senior vice president of communications at NYC & Company, the city's convention and visitors bureau. "New York is truly an international city."

TRAVEL BUG ARCHIVE Itching to travel somewhere else? Click and go! Destinations: Greece Iceland Montreal New Year's Eve Portugal Puerto Rico Switzerland

"Times Square is the focal point for New Year's Eve," said Joel Cohen, vice president of New York City Vacation Packages. "If you're in New York you may think, so what? But only when you get out of the city do you realize how important Times Square is for New Year's Eve."

Times Square's role as New Year's Eve party central started in 1904, when the New York Times, which owned One Times Square, began holding rooftop celebrations to usher in the New Year.

The first ball-lowering celebration was held in 1907 and has continued ever since. This year, former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali will push the button to lower the New Year's Eve Ball.

Crowds gathered to usher in the year 2000

Remember the Y2K bug? That was the zero-spewing phenomenon that was supposed to slap all the world's computers silly last year when we shifted the calendar from 1999 to 2000.

Experts say fears about the bug which turned out to be pretty much of a zero itself along with concerns about possible terrorist activities slowed down some of the action last New Year's Eve. Now that those worries have passed, revelers are back in a New York state of mind.

"We're doing a lot more business than last year," Cohen said. "I think all the fear is gone."

Indeed. Cohen said tourist interest in New York picked up so much, the Big Apple is the second-biggest-selling destination in the United States in 2000 behind Orlando, Fla., and surpassing Las Vegas.

So, if you want to be here to kick off 2001, we'll give you the same advice we give to New York cabbies: Step on it!

"Hotels are selling a lot faster than last year," Cohen said. "If people are waiting till the last minute hoping prices will drop, I don't think that's going to happen."

Kathy Duffy, director of public relations for New York City Marriott Hotels, said the No. 1 lodging company expects its two Times Square area hotels the New York Marriott Marquis and the Renaissance New York to be booked for New Year's Eve.

In fact, the Renaissance was fully booked as of last week, but Duffy advises visitors to call anyway, since there's always a chance for a last-minute cancellation.

Marriott (MAR: Research, Estimates) also has hotels in other parts of the city and in the suburbs, so perhaps you can grab a room a little ways out and take public transportation into town.

If you can't get a hotel room, try a bed-and-breakfast or rent an apartment for few days. The average hotel room in New York City went for about $240 per night in 2000, but a bed-and-breakfast or rental apartment may cost only about $100.

Allison Jurjens, director of marketing for A Hospitality Company, which provides fully furnished apartments for short- and long-term stays, said travelers come from all over the world to experience New York during the holidays.

"We get people from Italy, France, Spain, Australia, even Russia," she said. "We really do get a lot of globe-trotters."

The company's Web site includes a price list, so a studio apartment, for example, costs from $99 per night and from $675 per week. A one-bedroom starts at $125 per night and $850 per month.

A native of Australia, Jurjens was in Times Square for New Year's Eve 1995 and remembers it vividly.

"It was standing room only," she said. "You could hardly breathe. There were just bodies everywhere and you could hear all the different accents."

Jennifer Harrell, a spokeswoman for Urban Ventures, a bed-and-breakfast/apartment-rental agency, said crunch time for her company starts in the fall and goes right through the New Year.

"A lot of people come in for New Year's Eve," she said, "but most come in for Christmas."

Yes, it's going to be tough getting a room in New York this New Year's Eve, but even the experts say don't despair.

"It's never hopeless," Harrell said. "We do get things right up to the last minute." 

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