Pearl Harbor anniversary
The 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor invasion is Dec. 7, and commemorations will be organized by the National Park Service and the U.S. Navy. Many organizations are also sponsoring special trips. Try 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor by Military Historical Tours, Dec. 2-8 ($2,695; miltours.com) or 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Symposium and Tour on Dec. 1-8 offered by the National World War II Museum ($8,995; ww2museumtours.org). If you are in Honolulu and want to visit Pearl Harbor on your own, the Passport to Pearl Harbor tour includes all four main Pearl Harbor sites ($65; recreation.gov). If you just want to see the USS Arizona memorial, tickets are free. In the Air, Land and Sea Pearl Harbor Tour, visit the sites, then take a 45-minute helicopter ride over Pearl Harbor and Honolulu ($348; visitpearlharbor.org). Bus tours from $39 are also available.
Detroit Free Press
Better hotel breakfasts
At some affordably priced U.S. hotels, a free breakfast is increasingly a perk of a stay. Best Western, for example, recently introduced a revamped breakfast program at its more than 1,000 U.S. properties. Now, clients are offered a wide-ranging buffet. Build-your-own stations are the cornerstone of the makeover: All Best Westerns have a yogurt parfait and oatmeal bar with granola, shredded coconut and honey sourced from local bee farms. "We surveyed around 1.5 million guests and found that breakfast plays a significant role with guest satisfaction," said Ron Pohl, Best Western's senior vice president for brand management. Holiday Inn Express is also upping the breakfast ante with a new buffet of house-baked cinnamon rolls, pancakes that guests make themselves and healthful options such as oatmeal, Greek yogurt and turkey sausage.
New York Times
Airbnb surges in France
Airbnb gained market share in France, the world's most visited tourist destination, despite a string of terrorist attacks that depressed bookings at traditional hotels. The San Francisco-based company's apartment-sharing website drew 3.6 million travelers to France in June, July and August, 86 percent more than in the same period a year ago, it said in a statement. Budget travelers are flocking to digital platforms and bucking traditional travel patterns, which tend to dip following security threats. Fears of renewed attacks have depressed hotel occupancy, which dropped to a summer low of 63.7 percent in August, compared with 90 percent a year earlier. After France, Airbnb served the highest number of guests in Italy and Spain this summer.
Washington Post
Make your own travel documentary
You don't need the skills of a filmmaker to make a video compilation of your travel photos and videos. The Animoto Video Maker app lets you upload your photos and videos, pick a style to personalize your story, set it to music and add narration or title cards to complete it. The app is surprisingly fast. We've spent time with other video-editing apps and struggled with how much editing was needed. The app really connects with amateurs but offers enough customization so that your video appears quite professional. A help center on animoto.com can assist with troubleshooting or advice. (For iOS or Android. Free to download, with multiple in-app purchases.)
Los Angeles Times
