Meeting News - December 3, 2007 - (Page 18)

Destination Insider: New Orleans Edited by Elizabeth West elizabeth.west@nielsen.com Airlift Continues Rebound Post-Katrina airlift into New Orleans continues to increase. As of November, Louis Armstrong International Airport was near 75 percent of its preKatrina level of seats per day, and it plans to be back at 100 percent by 2009. The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau is taking an active role in ensuring there is ad hoc lift to meet demand. For example, the CVB worked closely with airlines and airport ofﬁcials on behalf of a convention that brought 26,250 attendees to the city in March. The airlines added ﬂights at the necessary times, according to CVB ofﬁcials. The airport currently has 132 ﬂights serving 37 cities, including several recent ones. In April, Express Jet began nonstop service from Austin, San Antonio, Kansas City, Jacksonville, and Raleigh-Durham. Southwest has added eight daily nonstop ﬂights into New Orleans from Birmingham, Houston Hobby, Dallas Love Field, Las Vegas, and Orlando. Ready to Serve Meals E ighteen major new restaurants have opened recently in New Orleans, which now has more restaurants than ever before (868 in the metro area). Among the new entrants are Riche, orchestrated by famed chef Todd English, along with La Boca, Table One, and Cochon. untourism’ organized so well that it is pretty easy to fold into a program,” said Block. “The activity meant a lot to our group. People liked the fact that we were doing something to help the city rebuild.” riors, expanded seating, a separate room for private functions, and a menu incorporating New Orleans, Cajun, French, and Creole cuisine. Now called 5 Fifty 5, it is led by executive chef Mark Quitney. Renovations to all guest rooms and 80,000 sf of meeting space are also complete. Infrastructure improvements are expected to wrap up soon, including a new state-of-the-art escalator and elevator system and a restoration of the parking garage. Hilton Revamp Includes A City Culinary Legend The 1,662-room Hilton New Orleans Riverside recently wrapped up several projects in a $66million renovation that’s set to completely revitalize the hotel by the end of 2008. Earlier this year, the registration area was redesigned, the business center expanded, meeting space refreshed, and the 109,000-sf Health Club by Hilton renovated. Drago’s Restaurant, a New Orleans institution known for its charbroiled oysters, opened an outlet on the ﬁrst ﬂoor in May. By year end, a new lobby bar called Spirits will open in the atrium. The entire guest room product is being upgraded, with refurbishment of the 1,200 rooms in the Main building set to wrap up in December and the 462 accommodations in the Riverside building slated for 2008 completion. Along with a new look and new luxury bedding, the Riverside rooms will get new bathrooms and amenities such as 32-inch LCD TVs. Marriott’s $38M Reboot The 1,290-room New Orleans Marriott unveiled its new $8.5-million lobby and restaurant in October, part of a $38-million makeover that has given the entire property a contemporary feel. The lobby’s reinvention includes a new lobby lounge named Fahrenheit 55, a revamped front desk area now with check-in kiosks, enhanced bell and concierge stands, and a new Starbucks outlet. The renovation of the restaurant yielded improved inte- Event Report Human Resources Group Finds CVB Resourceful The stafﬁng management conference that the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) held at the New Orleans Marriott in April was the ﬁrst meeting the organization had brought to the city since Hurricane Katrina. Lisa Block, director of meetings and conferences for the Alexandria,VA-based association, was delighted to discover that the spirit of hospitality in New Orleans was as strong as ever. “People felt very welcomed and enjoyed discovering for themselves that New Orleans is back,” she said.“Attendees had no problem getting ﬂights into the city, and Marriott’s facilities were just right for our meeting of 1,100 attendees.” In fact, the event went so well that SHRM has booked its 22,000-head annual convention at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for June 2009. The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau played a key role, not only by helping Block’s staff communicate effectively about the city and offering support like a very popular restaurant reservation service, but by organizing a community service project where SHRM members cleaned up a park in the Lakeview neighborhood.“The CVB has ‘vol- The new lobby of the New Orleans Marriott is a focal point of the hotel’s makeover. Fairmont Will Become Waldorf=Astoria Hotel Earlier this fall, the 500-room Fairmont New Orleans hotel was purchased by Nachitoches, LA-based Dimension Development Company Inc., which plans to spend $100 million to renovate the 114year-old property and convert it to a Waldorf=Astoria hotel. An opening date has not been set. H —Section written by Heidi Waldrop Bay www.meetingnews.com 18 MeetingNews December 3, 2007 http://www.meetingnews.com

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