Type “world’s greatest city” into Google and what do you think will come up? Guess. If you guessed New York you would be correct. It’s the answer you will get from the overwhelming majority of people. There are many great cities in the world, many larger than New York, many older, many that have their own distinguishing features that New York does not have. But when you say “world’s greatest city,” most people will think of New York, and for good reason. New York is the uber city, the ultimate urban center, the city that brings together more of the elements of what defines a great city than any other. It’s an unassailable truth. It’s the city so nice they named it twice.
Almost everyone who visits New York will go to Times Square, and there they can meet head-on the 330,000 people who came to New York that day from all over the world, some 50 million a year. It’s a heady experience, just to be there in that unique place. But in terms of actually experiencing New York, Times Square is just one pixel on a very dense map. What do you do when you’ve finished seeing Times Square? That’s the question Beyond Times Square was created to answer.
You can plunge anywhere into New York and you will find fascination on every corner. Every block, every neighborhood has its own character. The history is deep and rich. Walking across 42nd Street every façade you pass is a world of its own. But to penetrate those facades and gain insight into what lies behind them requires some guidance from an insider.
Beyond Times Square provides insider access to a much broader canvas of New York than you can get just traveling into the city on your own and getting whatever you stumble onto willy nilly. For those who want to dig in deeper and explore New York in ways that fit their personal interests, Beyond Times Square is an ideal resource. The company is built on a foundation that goes back more than 30 years.
Roots
Jeff Guberman, CEO of Beyond Times Square, came to his work as a tour operator of New York City via a roundabout pathway. He started in theater design, then became involved in TV, music and events, and evolved into a serial entrepreneur.
In 2004, he started an event management company called Fourth Wall Events, and built a client list that included IBM, Verizon and Estee Lauder. He merged Fourth Wall Events with Worldtek Events and McVeigh Associates and combined all three businesses under McVeigh Global Meetings and Events. And that’s not all of his activities. He’s a very busy guy.
It was in 2016 that he came into the business of New York City tours. He acquired two companies that operated tours of New York: Discover New York and Beyond Times Square. He merged them into a single operation under the name Beyond Times Square. Both companies had solid histories.
Discover New York was founded in 1993 by Kit Garrett. By 2016 it had built up a strong infrastructure, with a solid network of contacts in New York, a solid catalog of itineraries, relationships with agents, contracts with consortia and a good team that worked well together. The company had a menu of different tours of New York, but did a lot of its work on a custom basis. After selling the company Garrett stayed around for a year during the transition.
The original Beyond Times Square was founded in 2003. By 2017 when it sold out to Guberman, it had built a strong business offering luxury itineraries of New York City.
Guberman combined the two companies, retained the staff members who embodied the institutional knowledge, streamlined the operations and refocused them for growth to the next level.
The next stage of growth involves taking the formula beyond New York City. It also involves moving from what had started as a basically custom operation, to one that relies primarily on building up a roster of what Guberman calls “bulletproof” programs.
“We will customize,” he said, “but we usually have what someone needs, and it’s something that is reliable and flawless.” It’s always an option to speak with the company’s Experience Designer, who can combine and augment programs to include whatever is wanted. The company has hundreds of readymade packages on hand.
The predecessor companies were primarily involved with day tours of New York. The new, merged company is expanding its reach, focusing on building multi-day experiences and multi-city experiences, with an accent on luxury.
Beyond New York
The company is now offering programs in Washington DC, Philadelphia and Boston, and as of mid-May is expanding into Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, North Carolina.
“In the beginning, a travel agent would call with a request, and it would usually be a one-off experience,” said Guberman. They were usually single-day experiences. “There’s less of that now. It’s more of an entire experience. We still do single-day tours, but they tend to be multi-day.”
The busiest time of the year for Beyond Times Square is, not surprisingly, the holiday season, from Thanksgiving through the December holidays. The Thanksgiving Day parade and the Christmas Tree lighting are highlights, and to see the city decked out in its Christmas decorations is a thrill.
The most popular program for Thanksgiving includes brunch at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, combining great food and great views of the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The Uber City is a great backdrop for romance, and one way to experience New York is a Romantic Getaway in NYC. It includes a visit to the stunning observation deck at Summit One Vanderbilt, a carriage ride in Central Park, transportation via luxury cars, a dinner cruise, rooftop drinks, visits to iconic places, shopping on Fifth Avenue, and plenty of touches to juice up a romantic experience. The basic template can be adjusted to order.
The VIP NYC Shopping Tour and Pampering Experience is a two-day package that combines retail therapy with a wellness experience at a spa.
With the Iconic Essentials NYC Premium Experience, you are provided with a private car and driver, a night at the theater and an exploration of one of the world’s great museums.
With Best of New York City you are picked up at the airport and whisked off by a private car and driver and given a luxurious private tour of the city that includes highlights of Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, a viewing of the incomparable New York skyline, a Broadway show and your choice one of the top museums in the world.
The company offers a series of tours that cater to specific interests such as art, cuisine and fashion. It also offers a series of tours built around themes. One of the most popular is the Home Alone tour, which follows the scenes from the movie.
Other themed tours include Heloise experiences, a Breakfast at Tiffany’s program and a Sex in the City tour. One of the company’s newest entries in Washington D.C. is the cherry blossoms tour.
The company’s growth plan now is based on building a roster of multi-day experiences across the country.
It’s fairly standard for a tour operator to outsource its ground operation to a local destination management company, but Beyond Times Square doesn’t do that.
“We have boots on the ground,” said Guberman. The things we’re proposing we have experienced. They are tried and true.”
The market for tours in specific American cities is surprisingly underserved. The competition is not as stiff as might be expected.
“Most of our competition is do it yourself,” said Guberman. We do have competitors, but for an upscale traveler, there is not a lot out there. Mostly it’s people going off and doing it themselves, or calling their travel agent and them putting something together from scratch.”
Everyone needs to experience New York at least once in their lives. But it’s complicated. Making the most of the Big Apple is no cinch. You need a little help from someone on the inside who knows the ropes.
Start spreading the news.
I’m leaving today.
I want to be a part of it,
New York, New York.
Beyond Times Square provides the key, the way to make the most out of the New York experience, sort through the chaos and complexity, keep it safe and get the best it has to offer.
David Cogswell is a freelance writer working remotely, from wherever he is at the moment. Born at the dead center of the United States during the last century, he has been incessantly moving and exploring for decades. His articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Fox News, Luxury Travel Magazine, Travel Weekly, Travel Market Report, Travel Agent Magazine, TravelPulse.com, Quirkycruise.com, and other publications. He is the author of four books and a contributor to several others. He was last seen somewhere in the Northeast US.
