According to this Washington Post article, New Orleans meeting organizers are turning their eyes toward Atlanta to rebook their meeting, if need be. Which isn't too suprising.
What does surprise me is that Heywood Sanders has popped up in at least three of the articles I've read on New Orleans and conventions, post-hurricane. This time he's saying that the damage will hurt NOLA in its ability to compete for conventions in the future, due to what he says is an oversupply of convention centers. Well, there may be a lot of centers, but not a lot as big as New Orleans'. Plus, it just bugs me that he's saying this kind of thing as the city drowns.
Assuming (and I acknowledge it's a big assumption) that NOLA comes back strong after however long it'll take to clean up, rebuild, and repopulate, I don't think this hurricane will deter too many from seeing it as a great meeting destination. Disaster can strike anywhere, anytime, and the fact that nothing of this magnitude has happened before should work in its favor.
Plus, I just love that city. I want to see it back to its old bons temps rouler self again. Don't know if it can, but this dancing on its (presumed) grave is awful.