The return of conventions to New Orleans in late June meant a return to normalcy for the hospitality community. “It felt like the French Quarter again,” says Misha Mueller, a librarian at Georgetown (Ky.) College who was in town for the American Library Association convention. “But if conventions don't come, it'll be a ghost town.”

One local antique shop owner — who opened for the first time since Katrina during the convention — used be open 7 days a week. Her plans now are to open 3 days a week.

“We have peaks and valleys. The valleys are times when people can recuperate; during the peaks, they work overtime,” says Tommy Morel, area director of sales and marketing at the New Orleans Sheraton. The hotel employs about 340 people, half the number prior to Katrina. But with occupancy rates in the mid-50s — down from mid-80s before Katrina — staffing is adequate. “If we started running in the high 80s next year, we'd have a serious problem, but it looks like our occupancy is paralleling the return (of residents/workers).” Next year, he expects it to be in the mid-60s and staff to increase to 425 to 450.

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