June 6, 2017: Leaked Emails Show Fyre Festival Execs Knew of Issues Weeks Before Event, How Facebook Will Cater to Gamers at E3, Why Rent the Runway Became a Wedding-Guest Staple

1. LEAKED EMAILS SHOW FYRE FESTIVAL EXECS KNEW OF ISSUES WEEKS BEFORE EVENT: Executives of the disastrous Fyre Festival in April were informed of important issues regarding toiletries and housing weeks before the event, according to leaked internal emails. Mic: "In an urgent April 3 email with the subject line, 'RED FLAG- BATHROOMS/ SHOWER SHIPPING,' a mid-level Fyre Festival worker alerted senior staff, including 25-year-old co-founder Billy McFarland and Fyre Media president Conall Arora, of a growing crisis: the unexpectedly high costs (estimated to be at least $400,000) of shipping enough toilets and showers to the Bahamas to accommodate an anticipated 2,500 people on the island. This followed the news that its caterer, Starr Catering Group, had just pulled out of the festival. Those two events prompted one assistant on the email thread to joke, 'No one is eating so therefore no ones pooping.' That email is one of several thousand, provided to Mic by a source close to the matter, that were exchanged between festival organizers before and after the festival was shut down. Their accuracy was confirmed by three former festival staffers who were on the email exchanges. All requested anonymity for fear of legal retaliation; Fyre Media is the subject of several lawsuits alleging fraud or breach of contract, along with a federal investigation. ... Another set of emails — which began on April 20, a week before the first of thousands of guests were scheduled to arrive — started with a warning about housing on the island. With the subject line, "***DO NOT IGNORE*** HOUSING UPDATE & ACTION ITEMS FOR YOU," Marc Weinstein, a senior consultant working on accommodations for the festival, began an urgent thread to a close circle of colleagues that included McFarland and Arora. Due to a housing shortage, Weinstein proposed "cutting" 130 members of Fyre's staff from the first weekend of the festival, including about 70 members of the festival security team in favor of local security, and moving 46 influencers from the first weekend of the festival to the second. At one point, according to Weinstein's email, a total of 593 people—including social media influencers, investors, artists, vendors and staff—would not have housing when they arrived just about a week later." http://bit.ly/2rPla9N

2. HOW FACEBOOK WILL CATER TO GAMERS AT E3: In an effort to become more gamer-friendly, Facebook will debut an activation at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo that will allow attendees to share game enthusiasm on the social platform from a branded booth. VentureBeat: “The goal of the Raise Your Game booth is to help ‘build a global community for gamers to discover, watch, play, and share the games they love with the people they care about,’ said Franco De Cesare, global head of console and online gaming at Facebook, in an interview with GamesBeat. ‘We want to help them create shareable moments,’ De Cesare said. … Facebook has had meeting space at E3 for a while, but this is the first time it will have a public presence at E3. It is inviting attendees to immerse themselves in a series of engaging experiences at its Raise Your Game activation, with some of the games that are being announced at the show. Upon entrance, people will be welcomed to visit a series of stations meant to surprise, delight, and celebrate Facebook’s core mission for games. Fans will be able to share whimsical moments using augmented reality frames built specially for E3. On its stage, the company will have a Facebook Live Studio, with a rotating set hosted by gaming personality Andrea Rene. She will create original programming with a series of guest interviews during the three expo days of the show, June 13 to June 15. Rene will interview developers, marketers, and other special guests. The show will be streamed to several Facebook pages, including Facebook Gameroom and participating publisher’s official Facebook pages.” http://bit.ly/2qY7e93

3. WHY RENT THE RUNWAY BECAME A WEDDING-GUEST STAPLE: For people who have to attend multiple weddings a year, dress-rental company Rent the Runway has provided a significant service by providing guests with a variety of affordable wedding attire. Racked: “For frequent wedding attendees like Lerner, RTR is a welcome salvation. The 8-year-old startup that brought in $100 million in revenue last year has completely changed the game for wedding guests. Sarah Tam, RTR’s senior vice president of merchandising and planning, tells Racked that while December is a busy month for the company, with customers renting for the holidays and company parties, RTR’s busiest times of year are March through June, and August through October—aka wedding season. ‘Rent the Runway has really changed the way a woman thinks about her closet, especially for special occasions,’ says Tam. ‘The pressure of getting just the right outfit for every wedding is daunting, and choosing from something like 5,000 styles that’s noncommittal is quite the popular choice.’ And while it might seem excessive to some to give so much thought to someone else’s affair, Tam says it's become standard—especially considering the average person wears just 20 percent of their wardrobe. … Dresses available can start as low as $30, and go up to $200, with clothing from designers like Yigal Azrouël, Monique Lhuillier, Elizabeth and James, and Marchesa. The company offers jewelry and accessories too, although they still haven’t hacked the sanitary confines of getting into the footwear space. Alex Sher, a Raleigh, North Carolina, resident who works for a market research company and has a RTR pro membership, notes that many women in their late 20s and 30s 'don’t want to wear crappy clothes anymore, but also can’t afford to buy $300 dresses 11 times a year. 'Rent the Runway,’ she says, ‘has become a necessity.’” http://bit.ly/2rtcZ25


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

The American Hotel & Lodging Association and more than 300 other travel businesses, associations, and destination marketing organizations are supporting Brand USA through letters to key House and Senate committees. The letters express concerns that the Trump administration's budget proposal eliminates federal funding to Brand USA. 

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  Ames Boston Hotel has completed a $6 million renovation, which includes two new meeting rooms on the second floor that can accommodate as many as 125 guests. 

CHICAGO:  Dance Divas, the kickoff party for the 26th annual Dance for Life Chicago, will take place June 20 at Baton Show Lounge. 

Hotel Chicago—Illinois Medical District has partnered with Eat Purely, a start-up that delivers on-demand, chef-crafted organic meals. The hotel will host a public kickoff reception to celebrate the in-room dining partnership on June 14. 

LOS ANGELES:  Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills has opened. The 12-story hotel offers 119 deluxe rooms, 51 suites, and 6,300 square feet of meeting space that includes two ballrooms. 

Universal Studios Hollywood will launch “Christmas in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter” this holiday season, transforming the Hogwats castle into a holiday-theme light projection show. 

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  1 Hotel South Beach has launched M3, a monthly evening celebration of movement, mindful messages, and music with local and visiting instructors. The first of the monthly series kicks off June 10 with DJ Elliot James and programming that includes the teaching of the creative movement method by Ashli Katz, a Lululemon ambassador and master Flybarre instructor; a discussion about the impact of food on mood with Rachel Novetsky, a holistic health coach; and food and cocktails from chef Matthew Kenney.

MINNEAPOLIS:  Quest Events has opened its 23rd location in Minneapolis—Saint Paul. 

NEW YORK:  The American Heart Association's 21st annual Hamptons Heart Ball will take place June 10 at Southampton Arts Center. 

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s 16th annual River to River Festival will take place June 14-25 at various downtown venues including Governors Island and South Street Seaport. The festival features music, dance, visual arts, and theater performances. 

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA:  CE Rental, Inc., has appointed James Auerbach senior vice president.

TORONTO:  Queer art and performance festival Nuit Rose will take place June 16-17 at various venues downtown. 

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Rayna Katz, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

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