Our university is sponsoring a NYC networking event next week involving alumni and students, with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and dinner around 8 p.m. Once the dinner is over, though, the students (approximately 45 college juniors & seniors) will have about 2 1/2-3 hours to kill before the return trip to the university.

Any suggestions other than just letting them run rampant in the streets? We are trying to avoid having a busload of drunk people for the seven-hour ride back to campus (or, more likely scenario - drunk, barfing people for the first hour, then snoring for the rest of the ride....). I'm hoping that the probable high price of drinks in New York will prevent that to a degree, but even so, we'd like to try and have them go to a comedy club or something similar in the down time.

Any suggestions?

What about organizing a walking tour for them through a group like Big Onion walking tours? I think they can do customized tours for groups, so you could pick something that suits the students' interests (you might even be able to give them a choice of tours). See http://www.bigonion.com/tours/ Their regular tours cost $12 for full-time students - not sure what a custom tour would cost.

One of my favourite experiences was a business trip to Rome where the staff of the organization that was hosting our meeting took us on a midnight walking tour of Roman ruins.

One advantage of a walking tour is that it will put the kids to sleep for the ride back

Frogoutofwater -I really like your idea! A walking tour was something I never thought about.

That's a great idea!

Similar to the Rome experience, riding up to the Eiffel Tower at almost midnight on a bike was one of my favorite memories of Paris (Fat Tire Bike Tours).

Maybe the guide can incorporate movie/TV show locations.

I don't know if you have a budget for entertainment, but Steve Cohen's magic was one of the most memorable evenings I have every spent in NY. He does it right at the Waldorf. I assisted with one of his "tricks" and I still can't figure out how he did it. It is amazing! You could get him to do a show just for your group. You have the perfect number for the chamber show.

http://www.chambermagic.com/

TC - we don't have much of a budget, but thank you for the suggestion!

I'd just move the time the bus leaves to an earlier time. If the dinner is at 8 it's going to be over by 10 and the bus is leaving at 1am? What time does that get you back to campus? Have the bus leave at 11, problem solved.

The Accomplice experience would be great for this group:

http://accomplicetheshow.com/

They schedule corporate events and private parties. This is a truly unique experience.

Are all the students 21 years old? They absolutely won't be allowed in bars if they're not 21.

I agree that the bus is leaving at the wrong time. The group would have been better off reserving hotel rooms (you said there wasn't a budget set, right?) rather than searching for something to do between 10 p.m. and 1 in the morning!

I agree the bus is leaving too late. Even if you arrange a walking tour, 45 people sounds like too many for 1 or even 2 guides. 10 pm is not the time to do a walking tour anyway and next week the streets will be packed. If the kids want to go off and drink, they will, regardless of tour. Going to Top of the Rock is a possibility as is skating at Rock Ctr., but frankly, anything for 45 kids is going to be cumbersome unless you stay in the hotel and do something there.

Most of the tourist spots close around 11pm if not before, so there's not much to "see", also had a thought that if you give them the time to wander, someone will miss the bus.

The reason the bus is leaving so late is to give the driver enough time to rest/sleep between getting there and leaving, as we are only using one bus driver, rather than two. Trust me, it isn't my preference to hang around until 1:30-2 a.m....

Twina, is there a reason that you can't hire a second driver so that the bus could leave shortly after the dinner? If that is possible it would sure solve the problem.

LoveItaly - Budget, budget and budget.....

You don't have the budget to organize anything or to hire a second driver, but you are worried that the students have enough disposable cash to get so drunk in NY that they will be ill? You asked for suggestions for a comedy club. Who's paying for that?

I'd take up a collection from the students to pay for the second driver. Its a lot cheaper than bailing students out of jail, stalling your whole group's return home while you search for a lost student, or spending time in a NY hospital because someone got injured, mugged or raped (overtime for the bus driver in these cases). Take up a collection from the alums to keep your students safe or have your dinner in a cheaper hotel to save enough for a second driver. There are options.

TC - Your tone comes across as belittling (along the lines of "What kind of idiots are you?"), rather than helpful.

First, our office is covering the bus. Another office (Alumni Affairs) is covering the dinner, so we had no choice or expense involved in that aspect. As I mentioned before, I am not the one making the decisions, I am only the one looking for some alternatives.

As with most public institutions, we are trying to be cost-effective with the programs we are able to offer. We are all working together to give the students a chance to network with alumni working in the city, but none of us had the budget to give them a five-star visit.

Did you check out Accomplice?

Okay -- suppose you leave from your college earlier in the day? Give the kids a few hours in NYC before the reception? Take them to the Empire State or TOTR, then deliver to the Waldorf. If that doesn't work, show them Sleepless in Seattle on the way in, then walk them over to the ESB after the dinner -- it's open until 1:00 am over the holidays.

That would be a MUCH better solution!

I apologize Twina49. I did not mean to sound belittling. You were given several suggestions, but all were rejected because of budget. My concerns for you students are legit and if any materialize, hindsight will say you should have spent the money up front. Fra_Diavolo's idea is wonderful. Come to the city earlier, let your driver rest and then head home right after dinner. They are much less likely to get into trouble before the dinner than late at night, afterwards. There are any number of daytime organized activities you might do earlier in the day.

What about working with one of the big department stores for some appropriate work attire fashion consulting. They might even agree to put on a fashion show for your group. Contact the event coordinator at Macy's or Saks for instance. You wouldn't need models, if the dept store would just pull some outfits on mannequins in their auditorium and then have someone talk through the choices with our students giving tips on young/hip but work appropriate attire and accessories.

TC - apology accepted - thanks!

So many of the ideas are great, but once again it comes down to who was involved in the planning of the trip and who gets to come up with ideas to actually make it work.... We are about seven hours from NYC, so they plan to leave at 6:30-7:00 a.m. and then the bus will be stopping for an hour for lunch along the way. We are also giving the students an opportunity to change into business attire at the hotel prior to the reception and dinner, so they had to add in some time for that to occur.

I will look into why we couldn't leave closer to 12 a.m., rather than 1:30-2 a.m. The person dealing with the bus company said a rest period was required for the driver, but if we get into NYC at say, 3-4 p.m., eight hours takes us to midnight....