October 26, 2017: How Organizers Planned the Women's Convention, Hopper Brings Price Prediction Service to Hotels, National Parks Service Proposes $70 Admission Fees at Popular Parks

1. HOW ORGANIZERS PLANNED THE WOMEN'S CONVENTION: Organizers of the Women's Convention—the follow up to January's Women's March—collaborated with locals of all backgrounds in planning the Detroit event, which takes place this weekend. The Detroit News: "As many 5,000 women (and some men) are expected to attend the convention, which starts Friday and runs through Sunday. A follow-up to the historic Women’s March in January, the national convention includes dozens of breakout sessions throughout the weekend where attendees will have the chance to learn everything from how to build political coalitions to the latest on immigration policy. After national organizers decided earlier this year to hold the convention in Detroit, they tapped a local host committee of more than three dozen women, all volunteers, from across Michigan to help pull the convention together at the local level. Many are activists and reflect a wide diversity of ages, races, religions, demographics and expertise. The majority of the committee is made up of women of color and that was intentional to make sure those voices were heard, said Sumaiya Ahmed Sheikh, 26, a Muslim-American activist and member of Michigan Muslim Community Council. She was tapped to get involved by national co-chair Linda Sarsour. And local organizers played a key role in programming, which will delve into everything from sexual assault on college campuses to the Flint water crisis. It was about 'making sure there was inclusivity, making sure it was reflective of different religions and different political ideologies to some degree,' said organizer Monica Lewis Patrick, co-chair of We The People of Detroit, a nonprofit that has fought water shutoffs in Detroit. 'It was a welcoming space for the free-flowing of ideas... There was really a lot of effort to be very intentional.'" http://detne.ws/2zF3Pkr

2. HOPPER BRINGS PRICE PREDICTION SERVICE TO HOTELS: Hopper, a travel app that offers price predictions for flights, is bringing its service to hotels—starting with New York. TechCrunch: "The company claims its price tracking technology is able to save users $34 per night, on average, when booking a hotel room through its service, or up to $90 per night in the best cases. The Hopper application is already one of the better flight search tools on the market today because of its ability to make determinations about the best times to fly, which it does by analyzing historical ticket prices. The app itself is fairly popular, with over 17 million installs and a #13 rating in the Travel category on the U.S. App Store. As it does with flights, the new version of Hopper will predict future hotel pricing and tell you when to buy or wait to get the best deal on a room rate. Hopper says its technology is 95 percent accurate up to six months in advance, so it can be used for planning trips far in the future. Hopper tells us its technology collects 10 million hotel price quotes daily for over 500 hotels in New York – its first market – and has accumulated over a year’s worth of data. ... Hotel rates are also displayed on a color-coded calendar, like flights, and can be viewed on a new map interface, too. The Hotel Profile will fill you in on other things you need to know, including photos of the room, lobby, gym, bar, etc." http://tcrn.ch/2letsGl

3. NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE PROPOSES $70 ADMISSION FEES AT POPULAR PARKS: The National Parks Service is considering higher entry fees at 17 of its most popular parks. Associated Press: “Visitors to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion and other national parks would be charged $70 per vehicle, up from the fee of $30 for a weekly pass. At others, the hike is nearly triple, from $25 to $70. A 30-day public comment period opened Tuesday. The Park Service says it expects to raise $70 million a year with the proposal at a time when national parks repeatedly have been breaking visitation records and putting a strain on park resources. Nearly 6 million people visited the Grand Canyon last year. ‘We need to have a vision to look at the future of our parks and take action in order to ensure that our grandkids’ grandkids will have the same if not better experience than we have today,’ Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in a statement. ‘Shoring up our parks’ aging infrastructure will do that.’ Annual $80 passes for federal lands would not change, though fees would go up for pedestrians and motorcyclists. The higher fees would apply only during the five busiest contiguous months for parks, for most that’s May through September when many families are on vacation.” http://bit.ly/2izQtCE

* LOCAL NEWS *

COAST TO COAST:  The tourism boards from World Series cities Houston and Los Angeles have engaged in a friendly bet on social media: If Houston wins, Visit Houston will take over the Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds for Discover LA—and vice versa. 

CLEVELAND:  The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland, has completed a massive, 18-month transformation of its 206 luxury guest rooms and public spaces. The redesign was led by Detroit-based developer Bedrock and includes the opening of a new restaurant, Turn Bar & Kitchen, as well as a new fitness center. 

DETROIT:  Rose McGowan will speak at the Women's Convention, taking place October 27-29. 

LAS VEGAS:  On November 23, SLS Las Vegas will serve Thanksgiving meals and and prix-fixe menus at Bazaar Meat By José Andrés, Cleo, and Northside Café & Chinese Kitchen.

LOS ANGELES:  The new Westdrift Manhattan Beach, slated to open in January, has named Stephanie Bauer general manager. 

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

NEW YORK:  The Renegade Craft Fair will take place November 18-19 at Metropolitan Pavilion. The event will feature items from more than 150 vendors. 

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

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Plans to open Circo Orlando atop a new I-Drive parking garage have been canceled. Orlando Sentinel: http://bit.ly/2gI0Un6

SAN FRANCISCO:  In response to the fires in Northern California, Bay-area business and community leaders have launched Band Together Bay Area. A benefit concert on November 9 will feature Metallica, Dave Matthews, G-Eazy and more.

TAMPA:  The Poynter Institute's Bowtie Ball, November 4 at the Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg, will honor PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff.

TORONTO:  The Ontario Place Cinesphere will be restored as a full-time IMAX theater that will host public events. BlogTO: http://bit.ly/2y4pNkk

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  The National Conference Center has appointed Juan J. Garcia executive director of sales. The 35-year veteran of the industry will lead the property’s 14-person sales team. Prior to joining the National, Garcia was director of sales for Interstate after a stint at Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

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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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