PRICING: Several factors determine the price of security, including the number of guests, the logistics of the venue and whether celebrities or children will be present. Standard event security for a low-profile event—like a cocktail party for a business association—can cost anywhere from $25 to $40 per hour, per guard, with only a few guards required for basic security. A higher profile event might simply require more guards: For P. Diddy's 4,000-guest MTV Video Music Awards after-party at Cipriani 42nd Street in 2002, Styles Security used 75 guards to protect the event, including its indoor and outdoor perimeters. Large events—especially outdoor ones—can also require on-site E.M.S. crews.
Some firms offer guards with varying levels of training, from the basic event security to executive protection: Prices for guards who carry firearms or have advanced levels of training increase to $50 to $85 per hour, per guard.
Some companies offer bomb detection services with specially trained dogs: The dog and handler team cost $175 to $400 per hour. All per hour fees are accompanied by an hour minimum that ranges from four to six hours. An alternative to hiring a private security firm is enlisting a few of New York's finest from the N.Y.P.D.'s Paid Detail Unit, which farms out off-duty cops to help with security. The fee is based on the rank of the individual, but the starting price is $30 per hour for a single officer or detective.
A big reason to hire security firms is their experience getting permits to close streets and sidewalks. "The process of pulling permits is very political and bureaucratic in New York, making it almost prohibitive for an individual to do," says one planner. "Relationships are key here, and this is what you pay the security company for."
TIPPING: Tipping is not expected, and many companies will refuse tips.
HOW TO CUT COSTS: Create an event schedule that will maximize the use of security without bringing in more guards than needed. "Instead of having one guy opening the door and another guy doing the clicker count for capacity, you can have one guy doing both," says Chuck Garelick from GSS Security. Or if you just need a guard to cover the arrivals area from 6 to 8 PM at the beginning of the event and then you need a guard to cover the stage area of a concert that begins at 9, instead of bringing in two guards, you can use one. "Even though he’d have an hour in between [posts], with hour minimums, you're saving six hours by using one man instead of two," Garelick says.
—Suzanne Ito
Some firms offer guards with varying levels of training, from the basic event security to executive protection: Prices for guards who carry firearms or have advanced levels of training increase to $50 to $85 per hour, per guard.
Some companies offer bomb detection services with specially trained dogs: The dog and handler team cost $175 to $400 per hour. All per hour fees are accompanied by an hour minimum that ranges from four to six hours. An alternative to hiring a private security firm is enlisting a few of New York's finest from the N.Y.P.D.'s Paid Detail Unit, which farms out off-duty cops to help with security. The fee is based on the rank of the individual, but the starting price is $30 per hour for a single officer or detective.
A big reason to hire security firms is their experience getting permits to close streets and sidewalks. "The process of pulling permits is very political and bureaucratic in New York, making it almost prohibitive for an individual to do," says one planner. "Relationships are key here, and this is what you pay the security company for."
TIPPING: Tipping is not expected, and many companies will refuse tips.
HOW TO CUT COSTS: Create an event schedule that will maximize the use of security without bringing in more guards than needed. "Instead of having one guy opening the door and another guy doing the clicker count for capacity, you can have one guy doing both," says Chuck Garelick from GSS Security. Or if you just need a guard to cover the arrivals area from 6 to 8 PM at the beginning of the event and then you need a guard to cover the stage area of a concert that begins at 9, instead of bringing in two guards, you can use one. "Even though he’d have an hour in between [posts], with hour minimums, you're saving six hours by using one man instead of two," Garelick says.
—Suzanne Ito