'Nothing to Worry About' in New Orleans

When the American Library Association (ALA) met in New Orleans June 22-28, the annual meeting marked the first large-scale conference held in the Big Easy since Hurricane Katrina.

After months of monitoring any potential problems and receiving frequent updates from the city, ALA had a first-hand verdict on the city's meeting capabilities.

"Come on - there's nothing to worry about," said Deidre Ross, ALA's conference services director.

Right after Hurricane Katrina hit and the levies broke, ALA staff began calling other cities to see about availability for changing their 2006 meeting location. But the association needed to use the same dates, and none of the destinations they called could offer space without a change in timing.

So Ross and other association staff went to New Orleans in October to see for themselves what the chances were for a successful meeting.

"Things were bustling," Ross said. "There were workers all over and lots of construction and a lot of damaged houses, but when we talked to the convention center and the hotels, it sounded like everybody was ready."

Site inspections showed that the association's primary convention hotels - the Hilton, Marriott, and Sheraton - had little damage from the hurricanes, and the more seriously damaged hotels weren't in the room block at all. Meeting space in the convention center was sound, and new carpets - a necessity after water damage - had been planned and ordered even before the hurricane.

"The basic structure was there," Ross said. "But we knew there would be drawbacks, like would restaurants and shops be open? Would the places where exhibitors could throw parties be open?"

Labor seemed to be the most unpredictable piece of the puzzle, with large numbers of hospitality workers displaced. But with many evacuees settled in Baton Rouge, FEMA started running buses from Baton Rouge to New Orleans to bring in a steady workforce. And the convention center offered ALA extra set-up days to cushion any surprises.

"They generously gave us the extra days because we didn't know how many laborers would turn out," Ross said. "Obviously if you have 10 people instead of 20, what would have taken five hours then takes 10. But labor was excellent, and the set-up was ahead of schedule when I arrived."

The pleasant labor surprises extended to the hotels.

"Members asked what they should expect in terms of service," Ross said. "They were willing to make allowances, but they just wanted to know if they'd need to make up their own rooms. But the level of service was what you'd expect anywhere; maid service and clean towels every day and room service whenever needed. No difference from anywhere else."

Attendees rallied to help the city itself: Nearly 1,000 attendees participated in volunteer days, one at the start of the conference and one at the meeting's close. ALA implemented the volunteer days to help restore and repair libraries in the city damaged by the hurricane.

Overall, attendance was down several thousand from the 22,000 expected. The 2005 annual meeting in Chicago had 28,000 attendees, but that year was a record breaker, and Chicago always draws huge numbers for ALA. Still, the numbers dipped below projections.

"We had to suck it up a little," Ross said. "I think there was some nervousness, but also it was expensive because of the way the airlines worked. With the connecting flights, the ticket price alone could have been a deterrent. Other people might be able to pay $500 to $600, but our members are usually buying their own tickets."

But more than being complaint-free, the meeting reaped an unheard-of benefit for staff in the form of thank-you notes.

"We got thank-you notes not only from attendees, but from people living in New Orleans, thanking us for coming," Ross said. "Handwritten notes … who would have expected that?"

Planes and Automobiles: Getting There and Getting Around

The number of flights into New Orleans was a concern from the beginning for Ross. Although the airport was operating during the October site inspection, the number of flights was down dramatically. By the time of the convention, flights were still down by a third, which meant many attendees had to take connecting flights.

ALA was also concerned about the number of cabs and airport shuttles available.

"We'd had problems with shuttles in other cities; our people aren't going to rent a car. They want to share a taxi or ride a shuttle," Ross said. "But there was no problem after we'd mentioned it."

ALA allowed for advance shuttle sign-up on its Web site - a first-time addition which will likely be repeated in the future. So the city, represented by specialized task forces designated to address hospitality issues, was prepared for the number of attendees.