$100,000 New Year’s Eve Party

29 Dec, 2012

That’s the question the Opium Group, a Miami Beach nightclub promoter, is asking as it sells a six-figure admission package for 50 revelers at its Cameo venue. (That breaks down to $2,000 a head, but you can’t buy it a la carte.) The package includes entertainment—namely, a performance by hip-hop star Future. It also includes booze—75 bottles to be exact (50 of Moet Rose Champagne, 10 of Belvedere vodka, 10 of Patron tequila and 5 of Hennessy VS cognac).

The promoter says the package’s big perk is the opportunity for four members of the group to hang out with Future at his recording studio—in other words, a chance to continue the party beyond the big night. “You can’t put a price tag on that,” says promoter spokesperson Vanessa Menkes. But if the partygoers are looking to grab a bite anywhere along the way, they’re on their own: There’s no food with the package, says Menkes.

The reality

You don’t need to be an event professional to plan a special New Year’s Eve on a much tighter budget—say, under $1,000 or even under $100. After all, admission to New York’s Times Square is free (and even if you want to party in the Big Apple in style, New York event producer Balldrop is selling tickets to Times Square-area bashes for as little as $30 apiece). For that matter, you don’t need to be a math whiz to calculate the core value of the Cameo package in Miami Beach: As Opium Group’s Menkes points out, a single general-admission ticket to the club on New Year’s Eve costs $150, open bar included. So 50 general admission tickets to the club on New Year’s Eve would run $7,500. And by our calculations, the premium booze adds about another $5,000 (based on liquor-store prices).

The true cost for the Opium premium package is for the face time with the artist, but is that really worth it? Event professionals say given the time of year, the sum is not necessarily outrageous. A meet-and-greet on New Year’s Eve “is really rare,” says Brett Galley, director of special event with Hollywood Pop Gallery, a prominent party planner.

Still, other party planners say a six-figure ticket should offer something beyond a handshake and bottles of bubbly. Otherwise, it’s more about the price itself than what the customer is getting for it: “What they’re trying to do is appeal to guys who come into a club and drop $100,000 without blinking an eye,” says Tyler Dickinson, an event planner associated with The Modern Honolulu hotel in Hawaii. Dickinson’s proposed alternative? He’s hosting a ring-in-2013 package himself for a small group at the hotel—price tag: $113,000—that includes a party, airfare (for up to eight passengers on a private jet), lodging and, yes, food.

WSJ

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