With holes in the booking calendar left by Hurricane Katrina cancellations, New Orleans hoteliers are relying on corporate meetings to fill some of the gaps in 2007.

“We missed the cycle for citywide conventions for 2007 and 2008, but we have not missed the corporate meetings,” explains Tommy Morel, area director of sales and marketing at the 1,110-room New Orleans Sheraton. In recent months, he has seen an influx of interest from corporations looking to book meetings. “They want to be part of the rebuilding by sending their meetings.”

Delta Air Lines recently booked 425 rooms for a meeting at the hotel in November. Blue Cross Blue Shield and Ecolab also have meetings at the property this fall. For 2007, the Sheraton has 31 corporate meetings scheduled, with more expected. Morel anticipates that close to 40 percent of the group business will be corporate — that's up from 26 percent in 2006 and 32 percent in 2005.

The Sheraton is not alone. “New Orleans has received a great outpouring of support from this market,” says Mary Beth Romig, director of communications and public relations at the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We have seen steady and increasing interest throughout the year, and we anticipate it will continue into 2007.”

The Ritz-Carlton is also expecting a boost from corporate meetings next year as it prepares to reopen December 4. It had been closed for repairs since Katrina.

“Associations were the first to re-commit after Katrina, but now we are starting to see more corporate bookings,” says Darren Crumpton, director of sales and marketing at the hotel. Currently, the hotel's mix of group business for 2007 is 60 percent association and 40 percent corporate. But Crumpton expects that ratio to flip in favor of corporate meetings next year, as most of the new in-year bookings from now through the end of 2007 will be corporations.

The Morial Convention Center is also seeing corporate groups return. In September, Avaya Inc., Basking Ridge, N.J., held the first corporate event at the Morial Convention Center since Katrina.

While 2007 won't be a return to normal, it will be a step in the right direction for New Orleans hoteliers. Overall, about 74 percent of the meetings scheduled for 2007 are staying, says Romig — leaving plenty of room for short-term bookings.

In 2006, occupancy rates at the Sheraton are in the mid-50 percent range, down from mid-80s before Katrina. “We have a lot of peaks and valleys,” says Morel. “The valleys are times when people can recuperate, and during the peaks they are working some overtime.”

Next year he expects occupancy rates to be in the mid-60s. However, it will be three to four years before occupancy levels return to pre-Katrina levels, he says.

Meanwhile, the tourism corridor — which includes the French Quarter and convention center district — is open for business and ready for meetings. Most of the city's 700-plus restaurants are open, and 28,000 of 38,000 hotel rooms in the metropolitan area are ready for guests. All they need is an audience — which corporate meetings are starting to provide.

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