Mardi Gras meetings?
According to The Times-Picayune, while the Mardi Gras multitudes have been growing over the past few years, they haven't grown as quickly as the city's hotel inventory. With too many hotel rooms and not enough tourists, where else would the city turn but to meetings—maybe even citywide conventions—for the pre-Lent hoo-ha?
"[Gary Froeba, area director of operations for Wyndham Hotels] said the city needs to begin booking convention groups of 5,000 to 7,000 people over the big Carnival weekend; he insists that is feasible. One group could arrive on Wednesday and leave on Sunday, and the group could finish its meetings Saturday at noon and have Carnival activities on the schedule the rest of the weekend. A second citywide group could arrive Monday morning and could carry the hotels through Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.
"But others in the industry are skeptical. Meeting planners say some groups, particularly corporate groups, are uneasy about meeting in New Orleans because they worry their participants will get swept up in the festivities and miss seminars or be too tired to learn anything at workshops. Others think the idea of holding a citywide convention during Carnival is a bad one because of logistical challenges posed by crowds and street closures."
Would you bring your meeting to The Big Easy during Carnival?
Comments?
To receive a weekly blog update, e-mail Sue.
"[Gary Froeba, area director of operations for Wyndham Hotels] said the city needs to begin booking convention groups of 5,000 to 7,000 people over the big Carnival weekend; he insists that is feasible. One group could arrive on Wednesday and leave on Sunday, and the group could finish its meetings Saturday at noon and have Carnival activities on the schedule the rest of the weekend. A second citywide group could arrive Monday morning and could carry the hotels through Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.
"But others in the industry are skeptical. Meeting planners say some groups, particularly corporate groups, are uneasy about meeting in New Orleans because they worry their participants will get swept up in the festivities and miss seminars or be too tired to learn anything at workshops. Others think the idea of holding a citywide convention during Carnival is a bad one because of logistical challenges posed by crowds and street closures."
Would you bring your meeting to The Big Easy during Carnival?
Comments?
To receive a weekly blog update, e-mail Sue.
