September 2006
ALA takes a chance on New Orleans
Following Hurricane Katrina, 87 events cancelled or moved to other cities, taking with them more than $2 billion worth of meetings, convention and trade show business from the city of New Orleans. But ALA decided to stand by its commitment to come to New Orleans, becoming the first citywide convention in 10 months. EXPO brings you the real story behind how the show came together, and what other organizers can expect in New Orleans.
By Heather Kirkwood
On the morning of June 24, 2006, Donna Karl, Vice President of Client Relations for the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau (NOMCVB, www.nomcvb.com) stood at the doors of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center enthusiastically welcoming trade show attendees to the American Library Association’s (ALA, www.ala.org) Annual Conference & Expo, known as “the Stacks.” It might have been the sort of job typically left to a retiree, but for Karl, other volunteers from the CVB and the city of New Orleans, the moment was bitter sweet and could not be missed.
It was the culmination of 10 months of exhausting work. “We were smiling, but if we looked too long at one another, we could have cried,” says Karl, who, like other hospitality workers in the city, sported a purple button that read “We’re Jazzed You’re Here.”
As ALA attendees streamed off the long white shuttle buses into the heat and humidity, typical summer weather in New Orleans, and passed into the cool lobby of the convention center with its brand new carpet in soft shades of blue and green, everything seemed so normal. It felt like any other show.
But it wasn’t.
ALA was the first citywide convention to be held in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, bringing with it an estimated economic impact of $27 million.
If ALA had come to New Orleans a year before, it would have been just another show. But this time, the show represented a milestone, a civic achievement for which everyone — from the CVB President to the bartenders on Bourbon Street — took credit.
Last August, the winds and waters of Hurricane Katrina swept into the city, leaving 80 percent of the destination under water. And when the storm subsided, it not only turned life upside down for the city’s residents, but it also carried away more than $2 billion worth of meeting, convention and trade show business. Eighty-seven events either cancelled or moved to other cities in the weeks after the storm. Some shows simply had to move, but for those, not planned until later in the year, Karl and other CVB staff tried to convince show organizers to stay.
One of those who decided to stay was Deidre Ross, Conference Director for ALA.
To say the decision wasn’t easy would be putting it lightly. As pictures of thousands of people stranded without food and water at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center began to appear in news reports, Ross was mortified. The human suffering shocked millions and, while Ross felt that, she had another thought on her mind. PANIC.
ALA’s annual conference and trade show was supposed to occupy the very space she was watching on TV filled with desperate people pleading to be rescued. Last year, the event attracted a record-breaking 27,800 attendees and more than 1,000 exhibitors to Chicago in June. Given what appeared to be widespread devastation, how could New Orleans possibly be up to hosting such a mega-event less than a year later?
Ross’s mind began to process the enormity of the task. Would the convention center be able to host events? Would there be restaurants and hotels? Would the attendees and exhibitors come?
“I immediately got on the phone and started calling other cities,” Ross admits.
But 10 months later, approximately 17,000 librarians descended on a grateful city. They wandered the freshly redecorated corridors of the convention center and, in grand New Orleans’ tradition, they partied until the wee hours of the morning on Bourbon Street. Freight arrived on time. Labor showed up to move the show in and tear it down again. Security issues surrounding a long list of VIP guests, including First Lady Laura Bush, went off without a hitch.
How did it happen, and what can other organizers expect in New Orleans? ALA offered EXPO magazine behind-the-scenes access to show operations. EXPO was on site throughout the ALA show talking to attendees and exhibitors, as well as shadowing Ross and her team. Following is the story of the rebirth of the city’s convention industry, the determination of a city and its residents, and the commitment of an association to stand by it’s word and come to New Orleans.
Should we stay or should we go?
Relocating the ALA Annual Conference would be no small task, but Ross had no choice but to try. Not only would another venue need to be big enough to accommodate the show and its 2,300 breakout sessions, but the planned dates of the show could not change. The ALA event is timed carefully not to conflict with other library industry meetings and events. With less than a year before the show, Ross was having trouble finding cities that could adequately accommodate the event during its dates.
Meanwhile, New Orleans didn’t give up on the event. They remained in contact with the association and urged organizers not to move the show — confident the city would be back in business in plenty of time.
By October 2005, unable to find another suitable venue, Ross and the association’s executive team turned their attention back to New Orleans. “They kept urging us to come down and see that the damage wasn’t as bad as the media portrayed, so we took them up on the offer and went to see the city for ourselves,” remembers Ross.
Ross and the executive team visited the convention center. They toured the three largest hotels in their hotel block. They met with city officials. They investigated the area surrounding the convention center, including the French Quarter, and spoke with public health experts. “Nothing we saw looked insurmountable,” says Ross. “Not that a lot of work didn’t need to be done, but we were surprised it wasn’t worse.”
Ross consulted with major interested parties in the show, including representatives for GES Exposition Services (www.ges.com), the show’s general service contractor, and Paul Graller, Vice President and Show Director for Hall-Erickson Inc. (www.heiexpo.com), the company responsible for selling exhibit space and sponsorships, as well as managing the show floor. All agreed the task was possible.
The group returned home and met with the association’s board. After lengthy discussions, the ALA board voted to keep the show in New Orleans. Not only did they have faith in the city, but they knew keeping their event in New Orleans was the best thing they could do to help the people of the region. Ross and her staff of 10 had their work cut out for them, but being the first citywide event back in New Orleans gave the work a new sense of purpose.
Once the commitment was made, Ross and her staff began to draw up lists of everything that might be a special challenge with this show. They convened meetings with Hall-Erickson, GES and the bureau.
Adversity was no stranger to ALA events. In 2003, the show took place in Toronto at the height of the SARS scare. The situations were similar. The No. 1 enemy was false perception. “Things like this just happen in this business. You plan for 95 percent, and then five percent of it just comes up weird,” says Graller. “That’s the five percent you get paid for.”
Perception vs. reality
“The success of the show depended on educating our membership about what things were really like in New Orleans,” says Ross. “Not everyone wants to be a pioneer, so we knew attendance might not be what it was at the last show, but we felt if people understood what things were really like in the city, they’d come.” Ross’s team estimated 20,000 attendees would take a chance.
ALA set up a task force comprised of Ross and other key ALA executive staff, as well as those key to public relations and membership outreach.
Updates became a regular feature of the association’s weekly e-newsletter. Members were invited to send in their concerns, and answers were then given in subsequent issues. A special section was created on the event Web site where regular updates were posted every time a representative of ALA made a site visit. Common Q&As were also posted on the site. Common questions included: Is it safe? Can you drink the water? Are there taxis? Is there debris everywhere? Will there be enough hotel rooms? Will there be enough places to eat that I can afford?
“Some attendees expressed concern about what our plan was should there be a disaster during the show, for example,” says Ross. “So we publicized our disaster plan.”
ALA used a service where attendees could subscribe to and receive instant updates on their mobile phones in the event of a disaster. Association staffers were assigned to different hotels within the room block. If anything happened, they were to be a source of information for guests in their hotel. Finally, the bureau helped prepare emergency instructions, which were placed in each hotel room within the room blocks.
In New Orleans, the CVB formed a task force to back up show management with rapid response answers about the state of the city. “Members started hearing that there weren’t very many moderately priced restaurants open in the city,” says Karl. “They’re a budget-conscious group, so we immediately put together a list of moderately priced restaurants that ALA could share with the members.”
As other concerns came in from potential attendees, such as whether the airport shuttles would be running or what the air quality would be like, the bureau formed the answers for the ALA. “They were great,” says Ross. “When we’d send them questions from our members, they’d usually have an answer for us to share within a day.”
The exhibitors, however, had one primary concern. Would attendees come? To quell concerns, exhibitors were given regular updates on registration numbers, as well as information about what ALA was doing to promote the show and deal with any of the unique operational issues that might arise. “Most of the space sold a year out,” says Graller. “When it was announced that we were staying in New Orleans, only two or three exhibitors cancelled, and maybe a half dozen downsized their booths.” Indeed, the Stacks featured 140,000 square feet of exhibit space, down slightly from Chicago’s 155,000 square feet, but in line with 138,000 square feet in Orlando in 2004.
Knowing that exhibitors ranged from experienced pros to novices, Hall-Erickson set up an exhibitor portal where information was posted. “Really, it was just a matter of battling CNN and answering questions,” says Graller. “Even the day I landed in New Orleans for the show, I had an e-mail from someone who’d heard a rumor that there was no water pressure in the city.” It wasn’t true.
The bureau prepares
As spring came, bureau staffers were trying to predict any issues that might arise for ALA and solve them before ALA even had a chance to think of them. They set up five task forces dealing with transportation, public services, public relations, emergency planning and local hospitality outreach.
Because the city had been without tourists for so long, airport shuttles weren’t running at their former capacities. Many of the city’s taxi drivers were working other jobs because there just weren’t enough fares to keep them going. The bureau reached out to the airport’s official shuttle company and taxi drivers to ensure they were ready. They provided the companies with extensive information about event registration to assure drivers it would be worth their time. As a result, the airport shuttle company and taxi companies began hiring back drivers in time for the show.
The bureau’s transportation committee consulted with the shuttle bus service that would transport attendees to and from the convention center daily. Shuttle routes were carefully planned for maximum time efficiency. The bureau even contacted businesses and property owners along the shuttle routes to ensure no one would have major construction projects underway that might cause bottlenecks for the show’s shuttle buses. Construction projects abound in New Orleans as the city refurbishes and rebuilds, and many of the streets in the older sections of town — where tourists love to go — are narrow. Thus even a single cement mixing truck or a badly placed construction dumpster could cause major delays.
To gain the cooperation of the local community and ensure the best possible experience for visitors, the bureau also conducted a local public relations campaign. The hospitality community was brought together to be sure that nothing was overlooked.
“For eight months, we were used to hosting long-term guests such as relief workers or FEMA staff,” says Karl. “We wanted to remind everyone what it was like to host short-term tourist guests. It’s very different.”
Hotels were encouraged to be ready to offer regular maid service and to make amenities tourists expect, like room service, available even late at night. Many hotels had cut back on these services as guests, and workers, were in short supply.
Local merchants, waiters and hotel workers were treated to a special event for hospitality workers shortly before the show. They were given information about the show, reminded how vital it was to the future of New Orleans, and given purple buttons that were worn throughout the week that said, “We’re Jazzed You’re Here!”.
French Quarter merchants and tourism workers even undertook a public cleaning day to pick up litter, and Bourbon Street never looked so clean.
Everyone knew that the comeback of the convention and tourism industry would be greatly impacted by this show. If it went well, others would likely follow. If it didn’t, others might pull out or not come at all.
Behind the scenes at GES
GES had concerns of its own. Before the storm, GES had a warehouse and office that employed more than 70 people. It served an average of 20 major shows a year in the region, as well as 60 smaller meetings and events. This year, however, they’ll work seven shows at the center. In the aftermath of the storm, the warehouse was flooded, and GES staffers were relocated to other cities. The damage to the GES facility was put at more than $500,000 after taxes. Even now, repairs are still underway. The GES facility should be back on line by January 2007 but, with such a high demand for construction workers, even that might not be possible.
GES tapped the displaced New Orleans workforce to plan for the show. Working the ALA show gave local staffers opportunities to go back to the city and check on their own homes, as well as help with the rebuilding of the GES offices.
By November 2005, GES made a list of possible concerns. Would there be enough fuel available? Would there be difficulty getting freight into the city? Would they have access to the equipment they were accustomed to in order to service the show? And perhaps the biggest concern — would there be enough labor available?
GES met with show management once a month until 60 days before the show, and then weekly after that. As the weeks ticked away, many of GES’s initial concerns were wiped away as the city began to bounce back.
At a site visit in April 2006, the convention center was laying new carpet and much of the renovation was complete. “We were able to get carpet samples, and after looking around, we were confident there would be no problems with the center, which was a great relief to Deidre and the folks from Hall-Erickson,” says John Loveless, Senior Director for GES, who is responsible for the show.
The one issue that haunted the GES team was whether enough labor would be available to serve the show. Because of the renovation and rebuilding boom in New Orleans, there’s no shortage of jobs for carpenters, electricians and other such specialists GES would rely on.
Loveless consulted with the labor agents in New Orleans and was assured labor availability wouldn’t be a problem. “Just to be safe, we obtained the names of the 100 laborers who said they’d be available for the show, and we called each of them personally, just to be sure they’d be there,” says Loveless.
The convention center agreed to give the show extra move-in and move-out dates, so that if enough labor didn’t materialize, the show would have plenty of time to set up and tear down.
Show time in the Big Easy
All the anticipation and preparation on the part of the show and the city paid off. One of the few things that set the show apart from others were the many activities ALA planned to help Gulf Coast libraries rebuild. Although the center looked brand new, what transpired there 10 months before wasn’t far from anyone’s thoughts.
At the show’s ribbon cutting, Boy Scouts from Troop 33 in DeKalk, IL, presented ALA President Michael Gorman with a $3,000 check for the ALA Hurricane Katrina Library Relief Fund. The scouts had ridden bicycles from Memphis to New Orleans to raise the money. Later that day, the show’s attendees were addressed at the opening session by Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and the keynote speaker, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Other VIPs at the show included Mary Chapin Carpenter, First Lady Laura Bush, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and NPR’s Cokie Roberts.
On the show floor, attendees packed booths of publishers, technology providers and library furniture manufacturers. They lined up to get books signed by famous authors flown in by their publishers to wow the librarians. EXPO interviewed dozens of attendees at the show, and not one regretted coming to New Orleans.
“The reception we got here in New Orleans was amazing,” says attendee Vicky Schmarr, Vice President of the Ohio Educational Library Media Association, Columbus, OH. “Everyone has thanked us for being here. We’d go to a restaurant, and they’d thank us for coming. You’d go to buy something in a store, and the clerk would thank you for coming to New Orleans. Our being here meant a lot, and I’m glad we came.”
The exhibitors were equally pleased. “I think the show was actually better than last year in Chicago,” says Cindy Cohen, Public & Media Relations Manager for Lonely Planet who worked the company’s booth. “Everywhere you go, people are grateful you’re here. And at the convention center, even the littlest things got attention. We’d throw something away in our booth trash can, and someone would be there almost instantly to empty it. We needed an extra table, and it was brought immediately. It’s the little things like that really make a difference.”
After all the concerns about whether enough labor would be available, or how move-in might go, things couldn’t have gone more smoothly. “It turns out we really didn’t need the extra move-in or move-out time,” says Loveless, “We had plenty of labor, and many of the exhibitors were able to take Friday off to see the city.”
ALA did experience an attendance drop, from approximately 27,000 in 2005 to 17,000 at this year’s conference. Chicago is a destination that traditionally has great pull for the association; however, Ross acknowledges choosing New Orleans is partly responsible for the dip.
Airline service wasn’t up to pre-Katrina levels, thus there were fewer airlines serving the city and fewer flights available. That, combined with the sudden demand generated by the show, drove up the price of airline tickets. Several attendees EXPO spoke with said they would have liked to have brought more of their staff, but simply couldn’t afford the airfare. As demand for flights grows, however, it’s a problem that will likely resolve itself.
Some attendees who did come were partly motivated by a desire to see what New Orleans was really like. Several attendees and exhibitors rented cars and explored the outer regions of the city. “It was like night and day,” says Cohen, who rode through some residential areas with Lonely Planet’s local travel writer. “There was street after street of abandoned houses. Some of them had numbers and letters scrawled on them, a kind of code at the time to tell rescue workers which areas had already been inspected and how many bodies were there.”
While downtown New Orleans is back to its old self, the surrounding communities still have a lot of recovery ahead. That fact wasn’t lost on the attendees, many of whom had performed volunteer work around the city. Several conveyed pride in their association for coming to the city. “This event meant a lot to the city,” says Kathleen Mayo, Manager, Community Access Services for the Lee County Library System in Esterno, FL. “You can’t help but think about all the things that happened here. It’s amazing what they’ve done, and by being here, I feel like I got to help.”
As for Ross, 10 months after her initial panic and rush to relocate the show, “All and all, I can’t say enough about our experience in New Orleans,” says Ross. “I’d say to other show organizers, don’t be afraid to come. New Orleans is back.”
Heather Kirkwood, Senior Editor of EXPO, has written about the exhibition industry since 1997. In 2005, Kirkwood won Folio’s Eddie Award for editorial excellence and min’s B-to-B Best Web site Redesign Award. She can be reached at (913) 344-1376 or hkirkwood@ascendmedia.com.
Is air service back to pre-Katrina levels?
Before Katrina, 166 daily flights came in and out of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, with an average of 21,000 seats serving 42 cities. As of July 1, the airport is serving 107 daily flights in and out of the city (64 percent of its pre-Katrina capacity), representing 11,244 seats (54 percent of pre-Katrina seats) to 33 cities (79 percent of pre-Katrina cities). More flights are expected to come online in September. Before Katrina, the airport was served by 14 carriers. Today it’s served by 10.
What hotels are open?
As of July, 103 of the city’s 140 hotels are open for business. As of press time, there were 90 hotels open in downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter. A few remain offline. The Ritz-Carlton will reopen in December 2006. The Hyatt is also undergoing extensive renovations and will open in fall 2007 as part of the proposed Hyatt Jazz District Project. The Fairmont Hotel is also still under renovation and plans to open in spring 2007. Citywide, 27,300 of the pre-Katrina inventory of 38,000 hotel rooms are open.
Is there taxi service?
As of July 1, the largest taxi company in New Orleans reported more than 50 percent of its cabs were back in service, and the number will grow as demand returns. The airport’s official shuttle service is fully operational. Fares run $13 to and from the airport and designated hotel drop off points.
How many restaurants are open?
According to the Louisiana Restaurant Association, 2,776 retail food establishments have received certificates from the Department of Health to open again as of May. There’s no difficulty finding restaurants in the tourism areas; however, choices may be more limited in the outer areas of the city.
Is New Orleans environmentally safe?
Yes. Dr. Kevin Stephens, Director of the New Orleans Department of Health, says the city regularly tests its land, air and water quality — and all are testing within normal limits.
Is the city safe?
EXPO explored the areas of interest to tourists around the convention center and the French Quarter. Just as in any major city, it’s important to exercise common sense. But high-traffic tourist areas seemed as safe as they ever were. Before Katrina, the city had 1,688 police officers. Today, it has 1,536.
Is there a lot of debris around?
Clean up is complete in the city’s core areas, such as in the French Quarter, Central Business District, Magazine Street and St. Charles Avenue. Outlaying neighborhoods are another story. There is, however, quite a bit of construction and rehab work underway throughout the city.
What’s the population of the city like now?
As of July, there were 190,000 residents in New Orleans Parish, compared with 485,000 pre-Katrina, and 977,500 residents in the Metro area, compared with 1.3 million post Katrina.
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