No visit to New Orleans is complete without visiting Jackson Square and the historic St. Louis Cathedral. Photo by Rebecca Todd / NewOrleans.com

While it may be unclear as to how New Orleans got its nickname “The Big Easy,” one thing is clear: its rich cultural heritage, music scene, and easygoing lifestyle make it one of America’s favorite destinations. And it is ready for a major transformation.

Meeting attendees to New Orleans are now welcomed by a new airport. The convention center is undergoing through a $557 million facelift, and nearly $1 billion in hotel renovations have been completed, are underway, or are in the planning phase. Meeting planners will find polished offerings throughout the destination. New Orleans continues to be a bucket-list destination for many who have never been.

For many attendees, cuisine defines the New Orleans experience. Creole, Cajun and southern soul food form the culinary backbone, but the city’s sophisticated denizens have successfully lured fine chefs from other regions to set up shop and develop a food scene that is smart and trend-defying. Others point to the city’s robust cultural heritage, where the collision of French, Spanish and African influences produce one of America’s most distinct societies.

Some will reflect on the architecture of New Orleans, such as the French Quarter, the Garden District, and the elevated European-style cemeteries, as defining what makes this destination so special. And New Orleans’ musical heritage is undeniable. The Crescent City was the birthplace of Jazz, and today, the clubs and other venues remain well-stocked with a long roster of full-time musicians who happily share their craft.

Individually or in tandem, these are among the attributes that can be woven into a successful meeting program in this great southern city. They are among the assets that will distinguish a New Orleans gathering from any previous setting that meeting groups may have experienced.

“Meetings and conventions are a big, big thing for us here,” says Stephanie Turner, senior vice president, convention sales & strategies for New Orleans & Company. “So, we try to make event planning as turnkey as possible.”

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center covers more than 1 million sf of contiguous space. The improvement plan includes a makeover of the building’s exterior and a new park that will replace two lanes of street traffic.

Turner points to a $400 million expansion that has been taking place at the National World War II Museum, and a multi-phase renovation project of Caesars Superdome, to be completed in time for New Orleans to host the 2025 Super Bowl. In addition, Caesars is spending $325 million to renovate and rebrand Harrah’s Hotel and Casino with a Nobu hotel.

Jamey Boudreaux, executive director of the local Louisiana Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (LMHPCO), calls New Orleans the original Las Vegas. “But, it’s really the opposite of Las Vegas,” Boudreaux says. “The food is prepared differently, the party atmosphere is organic, and there’s 300 years of history that the folks in our organization seem to appreciate. Each year, we send out a satisfaction survey with different ideas about where we could go next year. They like it here in New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast is three times the price.”

Although there are regional hospice conferences for continuing education around the country, the LMHPCO has a reputation as a great conference, drawing attendees from outside the region, from Minnesota, Texas and Florida.

“Going to a hospice conference could be a real downer,” Boudreaux says. “Most people run away. But, they come to ours because it’s so much fun, and the word gets around.”

The LMHPCO has used several New Orleans hotels for its conference, but last year, and again this year, Boudreaux chose the Higgins Hotel & Conference Center, an unusual spinoff from the National WWII Museum.

Named for Andrew Higgins, who designed and built over 20,000 boats in New Orleans that were used in every major amphibious assault of World War II, the museum focuses on the contribution made by the United States to the Allied victory during the war. The hotel offers more than 18,000 sf of meeting and event space, including the 6,566-sf Arcadia Ballroom.

The museum, located in the Warehouse District, which is less than half a mile from the convention center, is a popular venue for hosting meetings and events as it features private event spaces, including the U.S. Freedom Pavilion, capable of seating 650 for dinner beneath six vintage WWII aircraft.

“We start off with a great second line parade,” Boudreaux says. “On the second day, we have a military honor guard and the Victory Belles, doing the Star Spangled Banner and other songs from that era. After 22 years, there’s a certain formula that this conference has been molded around, but the Higgins has guided us in terms of thinking about it, helping us to make this one of the best state hospice conferences in the country.”

Like many associations, the LMHPCO watches every dollar spent, so the event is held in the summer, a low season for the destination.

“We like the price that time of year, and the Higgins has worked with us on our budget and our menus to make sure that we provide a full conference at an affordable price,” he says. “Royal Productions is the in-house AV company, and we’re constantly asking them to sharpen the pencil on their proposals. They’ve helped us stay in the black. The meeting space is on the second floor, and there are great AV hookups, monitors and leaderboards in all the rooms. It’s the perfect size for us, having 300 people. We sell out the hotel, so we get the entire space. I like being the only one in the hotel so I don’t have to compete with any other groups. After the sessions, attendees like going up to Rosie’s on the Roof to have drinks and socialize outside in the evenings.”

Also new in the neighborhood is the Renaissance New Orleans Warehouse Arts District hotel, formerly the New Orleans Downtown Marriott at the Convention Center, which completed a full-scale redesign last year. The reimagined guest rooms include locally inspired accents to reflect the atmosphere of the trendy Warehouse District, functional work areas, hard surface flooring, new seating areas and contemporary furniture. The facility offers 11,628 sf of meeting space, all housed within a 200-year-old historic warehouse adjoining the modern hotel.

Meeting planners should be aware of Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans’s 33rd and 34th floors, which are home to an indoor and outdoor observation deck and cultural exhibit featuring the only 360-degree panoramic riverfront views of New Orleans. The hotel, which is the only AAA Five Diamond hotel in the state, has 29,000 sf of flexible meeting space on one level.

The Le Méridien New Orleans recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation to blend the brand’s European heritage with a contemporary sense of style. The investment included renovations to the guest rooms, meeting spaces, rooftop pool deck, outdoor patio, restaurant, bar and more. The hotel is steps away from the French Quarter and arts district. Brimming with amenities, the hotel has more than 20,000 sf of meeting and events space.

Not to be outdone, The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans used the pandemic to complete a renewal of its spa and add a new rooftop suite, The Residence. The 3,200 sf two-bedroom penthouse suite includes a fully equipped kitchen and a dining room for 10, a fireplace in the primary bedroom and a curated art collection showcasing regional artists.

The suite’s 3,500 sf terrace offers sweeping panoramic views of New Orleans. The hotel also completed a $15 million renovation of its Maison Orleans Club Lounge and accommodations. Often referred to as a hotel within a hotel, the Maison Orleans combines intimacy, comfort and exclusivity with the hotel’s personalized service, including a dedicated concierge.

“The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans provides the best of everything,” says Natalie Cheung, director, membership, marketing and events for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) in Washington, D.C.

“It’s centrally located in a culturally rich city, the service cannot be beat, and it offered us ample meeting space and a jaw dropping outdoor courtyard. Wherever we hold our meetings, we like to give our attendees a little fresh air outside of the meeting rooms, whether it’s a rooftop, terrace or courtyard, and we loved The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans because they have this gorgeous open-air courtyard space filled with lush greenery we could use for our receptions.”

AHAM typically alternates between a Florida resort location and Washington, D.C. but Cheung says that the association wanted to try something new.

“Instead of choosing a resort, we opted for a destination with broad appeal,” she explains. “New Orleans offers something for everyone with both traditional and modern appeal. This is seen across the broad offerings in food, music and the arts, and the destination continues to inspire after weathering the storm. That spirit of strength and diversity was a key reason for us to choose New Orleans as our meeting destination.” AHAM’s entire event took place at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans with the exception of a small dinner at the renowned Arnaud’s Restaurant. “Our international attendees loved trying the traditional Creole cuisine,” Cheung adds.

“The hotel and their AV partner were absolutely top-notch. The space, food, accommodations and the level of attention to detail undoubtedly created an unbeatable experience for our members. This was the highest-rated meeting we have ever held, and the hotel and their attentive staff helped make that possible.”

For Teri Valls, CMP, CMM, executive director, Meetings, Events and Conference Coordinators (MECC), the Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, remains her first pick for association events in the city.

“I’ve done many meetings in New Orleans,” Valls explains. “For my team, the Roosevelt is like coming home. They’re like family, they treat you right, there are warm hugs, and I’m sure it’s the same for everybody, because that’s the kind of relationship they want with their clients. The last conference I did they brought me freshly made pork rinds every day, and mid-morning they asked, ‘Is there anything we can do for you?’ Those are things that create relationships, and I always say creating relationships is creating a foundation.”

The Roosevelt is New Orleans’ grand dame. Opened in 1893, the hotel is famous for the walnut-paneled Sazerac Bar, the Blue Room where Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey performed regularly, and how author Arthur Hailey checked in for two months and wrote the best-seller “Hotel.” After flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the hotel went through a $170 million renovation that lead to its reflagging as a Waldorf Astoria in 2009. The elegant and historic hotel has more than 60,000 sf of meeting space, including three ballrooms.

Two years ago, Valls brought the Society of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeons to the Roosevelt for a continuing education program called Minimally Invasive Surgery. The Roosevelt’s location, right on Canal Street and a block away from Bourbon Street, is great for experiencing what the city has to offer, but it’s also convenient to Tulane University, which the society used for a surgical simulation center.

“The Roosevelt is just beautiful, with well-appointed rooms,” adds Valls. “It gives you the feeling of a small hotel, but with a variety of meeting spaces. Back when it was built, there used to be dinner shows, and you see that in three of the meeting rooms, with a stage for the band.”

Elements like this allow the hotel to really shine once the event starts to unfold.

“When you do a site visit you meet only a few people,” Valls added. “I don’t think everyone is ever going to know the wide range of gratitude and respect that the entire team has on site. The banquet team is outstanding. It’s always great when I do events at the Roosevelt.”

Baton Rouge

Just “up the river” from New Orleans, Baton Rouge is another southern option for meeting planners to consider. The Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC), located in Richmond, VA, came to Baton Rouge this year.

“Our location rotates from east coast, west coast, gulf coast and then to an inland state,” says Keith Skiles, executive director of ISSC. “It was time for a Gulf Coast meeting, and Louisiana has a long history of being a significant producer of seafood, particularly oysters, which makes it a natural for our organization. We have previously held two biennial meetings in New Orleans, but Baton Rouge was a good fit because we had an interest in holding our meeting in a destination that had not hosted in the past. Among the locations we considered for this meeting, we found Baton Rouge to have reasonable flight and lodging rates, and facilities that were eager to host the event,” says Skiles.

The conference drew 230 attendees, and the Baton Rouge Marriott was used as a host hotel, where multiple concurrent meetings were held throughout the day and into the evening with a variety of room setups. The hotel offers 17,879 sf of meeting space, including a surfeit of breakout rooms and a 6,050-sf ballroom. Skiles says that they settled on the Marriott because of the quality and value of the facility, and the willingness of the management to work with them for special requests, such as food and preparations for an opening banquet.

“Since our organization is seafood oriented, we had some unique requests and the management and kitchen staff were both very willing to hear our requests and did an outstanding job with the food preparation and presentation,” Skiles says. “The hotel staff were very flexible and responsive throughout the planning process and willing to accommodate our requests for a reasonable rate.”

Louisiana’s capital city offers historical tours that delve into the region’s French history, ghost tours and food tours, and rooftop bars and restaurants that take in a panorama underlined by the Mississippi River. The food of Baton Rouge blends Cajun and creole traditions, with distilleries and breweries offering tours and tasting rooms.

However, during planning, the group recognized that there were limited places for participants to go within a reasonable walking distance.

“We were concerned that since most of our participants would be traveling by air and would not have vehicles available that we would overwhelm the facilities that were close by,” Skiles adds. “To address the concern, we contracted with a local transportation company to provide a shuttle service every evening to other parts of Baton Rouge.”

One evening event was held at Red Stick Social, an off-site event venue.

“The food, staff and atmosphere of the event were exceptional, and the event was a great experience,” Skiles says. “Baton Rouge was very welcoming, and the staff at Visit Baton Rouge went above and beyond to help us organize and hold the meeting.”

Planners often say that overall, New Orleans is a city that can be defined as a center of hospitality. You never meet a stranger! And if you choose the Big Easy, you will not be disappointed. | AC&F |