May 16, 2018: Hotel Industry Hops on Pop-Up Trend, BBC to Launch New Music Festival, Miami Prom Under Investigation for Having Live Tiger

1. HOTEL INDUSTRY HOPS ON POP-UP TREND: Pop-up museums, shops, and restaurants are commonplace. Now, the hotel industry is getting in on the pop-up action by hosting pop-up hotels. Skift: "For consumer brands looking at places to pop up, a hotel can be a very attractive option. According to Melissa Gonzalez, chief pop-up architect for retail strategy firm The Lionesque Group, the first consideration is “location, location, location,” and most hotels have that edge. Moreover, hotels offer brands turnkey spaces—the Wi-Fi is there, there is air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter, and there are always restrooms—that are very attractive to temporary tenants. Advantages for the host hotels include media and money. Gonzalez said the hotels in which she has placed pop-ups have seen a 20 percent revenue lift from guest room and event space bookings (some brands kick off their pop-ups with an opening night reception). That figure does not count the revenue from the pop-up rental space itself. Indeed, the buzz is the other big advantage of hosting pop-ups. Since brands conduct marketing campaigns around their pop-ups, the social media halo effect helps the hotels. 'While pop-ups do generate revenue for the hotel they enable 11 Howard to build partnerships within our local community, create an immersive interactive experience for guests and connect with new audiences,' Shannon Sheppard, director of sales and marketing for 11 Howard, a boutique hotel in New York’s Soho neighborhood, said. 'It also allows us to create engaging social media content and foster a sense of newness in a hotel market that is increasingly competitive. [We also find] that it adds intangible value to the guest experience and supports our investment in the local neighborhood.' But serving as hosts for other pop-ups is just part of the equation. Although in its infancy, the pop-up hotel phenomenon is likely to mature quickly." https://bit.ly/2rNH9gn

2. BBC TO LAUNCH NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL: The BBC will launch a new music festival this fall, which will highlight emerging British artists. Billboard: “Taking place at London’s Tobacco Dock Nov. 8-10, BBC Music Introducing LIVE 18 will combine a day program of industry master classes for people wishing to enter the music industry with a nighttime program of live performances from a yet-to-be-announced lineup of new and established artists. BBC Radio will broadcast the event live, while featured zones will include an ‘A&R listening feedback center’ for unsigned home-grown acts. Attendees will also be able to hear from a range of ‘high-profile artists’ about their paths to success, as well as pick up practical advice about recording, navigating the digital marketplace, rights and live performance. In total, there will be over 100 master classes and interactive sessions featuring over 250 speakers “from all quarters of the music industry,” including all the key British music industry bodies, according to the BBC. Ticket details and a full program of talks and guests will be announced next month. The event is being produced by Get On Vision (a joint venture between Vision Nine and Get On Music Media) and looks to build on the inaugural success of last year’s BBC Music Introducing Amplify event, which was held at London’s ExCeL venue and was similarly targeted at helping aspiring DJs, artists and musicians break into the industry.” https://bit.ly/2IFCFSz

3. MIAMI PROM UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR HAVING LIVE TIGER: A jungle-theme prom at a high school in Miami is under investigation after it held a performance with a live tiger. The New York Times: “The episode unfolded on Friday at a DoubleTree hotel near the Miami airport, where Christopher Columbus High School held its prom. The prom for the all-boys Catholic school, which has almost 1,700 students, featured costumed performers doing tricks with flaming torches and loud thumping drums. In the center of the dance floor, surrounded by prom-goers, was a tiger pacing and circling in its cage, a video posted on Facebook showed. The post, which criticized the use of the animal for entertainment purposes, drew widespread attention. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said on Monday that it was aware of the video and was ‘looking into the incident to determine if any violation of Florida’s captive wildlife rules took place.’ The vendor that provided the tiger, Predators Unlimited, is a licensed captive wildlife facility in Florida and has valid permits for the exhibition and sale of a variety of wild animals, the commission said. Company officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement posted on the school’s website, the principal, David Pugh, said, ‘We regret the decision to have had live animals at our prom.’” https://nyti.ms/2Gm1ZaW

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s annual Boston Hot Pink Party, which took place May 10, raised $1.725 million. 

LAS VEGAS:  Topgolf will host a royal wedding pajama and viewing party on May 19. 

LOS ANGELES:  The Los Angeles Convention Center has named Nancy Walker its new vice president of sales and marketing. Walker has over 20 years’ experience in the events and trade show industry, most recently as the director of sales, North America, at Reed Travel Exhibitions.

The BAFTA Los Angeles TV Tea Party will take place September 15 at the Beverly Hilton. 

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

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The first-ever Pride of the Americas Festival will take place in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area in 2020. The 10-day festival, which is hosted by Pride of Fort Lauderdale and presented by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, will have a parade, beach party, arts festival, and social events, along with a human rights conference focused on L.G.B.T. rights. 

NEW YORK:  Reamir & Co. barbershops in New York will give away 50 free haircuts to veterans from May 28-June 1. 

Cynthia Nixon, Amandla Stenberg, and Common are slated to speak at the Teen Vogue Summit: #TurnUp, taking place June 1-3 at the New School. Rowan Blanchard has joined the lineup as event co-host. 

The 33rd annual Chefs’ Tribute to Citymeals will take place June 11 at Rockefeller Center. The theme of the event is The Grand Affair: Celebrating Chefs of the World’s Greatest Hotels; it will offer dishes from chefs including Rudi Liebenberg, Cassidee Dabney, Daniel Boulud, and Charlie Palmer. 

Cachet Boutique New York Hotel will have its official grand opening in September. Located near Hudson Yards, the 105-room hotel has nearly 8,000 square feet of meeting and event space and an open-air terrace that will be open to the public and guests this month. 

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

TORONTO:  Ink Entertainment has opened Italian restaurant Sofia. The restaurant offers a menu helmed by executive chef Christine Mast and cocktails created by mixologist Nishan Nepulangoda. Studio Munge designed the space, which features a progressive furniture design, a David Drebin mural, and works from Taglialatella Gallery, which will debut later this spring adjacent to the venue. 

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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Ian Zelaya, and Deirdre Jahn in New York.

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