NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2011 to Extend Through Labor Day with 200 Restaurants

7/21/11

—Program Extension Partners American Express and foursquare Collaborate to Deliver Exclusive Cardmember Specials—


—Travelocity to Host Twitter Sweepstakes for Travel Discounts—


New York City (July 21, 2011)— NYC & Company, New York City's marketing, tourism and partnership organization, today announced that NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2011 will be extended from July 25 to September 5 and with 200 participating restaurants. The extension will take place Monday through Friday; Saturdays are excluded and Sundays are optional. For the first time, Founding Sponsor American Express will participate in the dining program’s extension, collaborating with foursquare to enable American Express® Cardmembers who sync their foursquare profiles with their Cards to unlock specials at participating restaurants, and seamlessly redeem $5, which will appear on their statements. In addition, the Travelocity Roaming Gnome™ will host a Twitter sweepstakes that rewards $100 towards future travel to eager foodies. “We are proud to partner with American Express and foursquare on this new initiative that rewards NYC Restaurant Week diners for participating in the program through a digital platform in a way that enhances the overall experience,” said NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta. “By building on Mayor Bloomberg’s efforts to transform New York City into a digital city, we believe that encouraging online activity for exclusive dining benefits is the perfect direction to take the development of our culinary celebration.” To enjoy couponless savings beginning Monday, July 25, American Express Cardmembers should sync their Card to their foursquare profile at sync.americanexpress.com/foursquare. Diners can then discover and unlock exclusive $5-off specials at qualifying NYC Restaurant Week extension participants by “checking in” to the merchant on foursquare and “loading” the special to their Card. After they spend a minimum of $24.07 with their synced Card, they will receive a notification stating they redeemed the special, which will later be reflected on their American Express statement (see website for full terms and conditions). “We are thrilled to be able to bring the benefits of our partnership with foursquare to NYC Restaurant Week,” said Don Shannon, Vice President of Marketing and Client Development at American Express. “American Express is focused on delivering value to our Cardmembers and merchants where they’re already engaging, and NYC Restaurant Week is an ideal time for them to take advantage of this unique functionality.” “We’re excited to work with NYC & Company and American Express to enable foursquare users to redeem valuable offers in a seamless way at some of the best restaurants in NYC,” said Tristan Walker, Director of Business Development for foursquare. “This is a perfect example of how tourism organizations and merchants can use the foursquare platform to drive business and reward loyal customers.” Additional consumer benefits during the extension of NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2011 include the Travelocity Tuesdays Sweepstakes hosted by the Travelocity Roaming Gnome. At 1pm on Tuesday, July 26, and Tuesday, August 2, the first 50 @roaminggnome followers on Twitter who respond to his foodie question will have a chance to win $100 off qualifying travel purchases. For a full set of official rules and to find out more, follow @roaminggnome and visit nycgo.com/travelocitytuesdays. Program extension participants this season include Bar Boulud, Benchmark Restaurant, City Lobster and Steak, and Rayuela. The program will also feature the likes of Aquavit, B. Smith’s, Capsouto Freres and Water’s Edge—all original participants in 1992. The full list of restaurants will be available at nycgo.com/restaurantweek on Monday, July 25. In addition to city bus shelters and taxicab monitors, NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2011 extension media will be featured hourly on the ToshibaVision screens in Times Square through September 6. NYC Restaurant Week began in 1992 as a one-time program to welcome the National Democratic Convention to town. Since then, the City’s largest gastronomic event has grown from 95 restaurants to more than 320, and has developed to include exclusive dining benefits, sweepstakes, consumer events and products. NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2011 is produced by NYC & Company and supported by Founding Sponsor American Express and Participating Sponsor Travelocity. Reservations are powered by OpenTable.


For the latest announcements on NYC & Company programs follow twitter.com/nycgo_press. Visit nycgo.com to find out everything there is to see, do and eat in New York City.


About NYC & Company:


NYC & Company is the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York, dedicated to maximizing travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs, building economic prosperity and spreading the positive image of New York City worldwide.