Note: Blogger will not allow me to upload the picture. I'll try in a separate post.
Never has a city been so happy to welcome tourists as New Orleans. It’s not completely uncommon for convention and visitors bureaus to undertake a “welcome” campaign when a very large event is in town. They meet with local heads of the hospitality community so that everyone is on the same page and has the same information about the incoming group; hold special “being nice” seminars for waiters, clerks or taxi drivers to tell them about the event coming to town; and they remind everyone how important such events are to maintaining hospitality jobs. The idea is to make the visitors feel as welcome as possible.
You can bet that the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau was no different when the first major trade show since Katrina came to town. The city pulled out all the stops to welcome the American Library Association. Yes, they held a special bash for hospitality workers at the convention center a week before the show. The two wait staff pictured here, from the Desire Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Bourbon Street, were in attendance. They were given the purple buttons you can see on their uniforms. They say “We’re Jazzed You’re Here.” And, they were given a refresher course on the difference between waiting on FEMA workers (long-term guests) and librarians (short-term guests). They also proudly told me that they got a free lunch out of the deal and it was pretty good.
Everywhere you went in New Orleans, someone thanked you for being there. They thanked you in the bars on Bourbon Street, in the T-shirt shops along Jackson Square (even when I didn’t buy anything) and every taxi driver and shuttle bus driver made a point to say, “Thank you for coming to New Orleans.”
One attendee I spoke with over lunch told me her shuttle driver that morning not only said thank you, but he stood up and gave a mini speech about how much he appreciated the fact that the American Library Association stuck with their agreement to come to New Orleans.
Whatever was said at this hospitality worker bash – it worked. Or, maybe the good folks of New Orleans really didn’t need anyone to tell them how to be welcoming or thankful. Even if the tourists seemed tiresome at times before Katrina, there’s no other city in the country where everyone - from the President of the CVB to the waiter in the average restaurant – truly knows what’s like to have all the tourists leave.
After Katrina New Orleans lost $2 billion worth of meeting, convention and trade show business. Revenues from that business represented 35 percent of the city’s operating budget. Approximately 87 events cancelled in the weeks after the storm. This show was the city’s chance to resume its place among the top exhibition destinations in the country – and it shined.
Never has a city been so happy to welcome tourists as New Orleans. It’s not completely uncommon for convention and visitors bureaus to undertake a “welcome” campaign when a very large event is in town. They meet with local heads of the hospitality community so that everyone is on the same page and has the same information about the incoming group; hold special “being nice” seminars for waiters, clerks or taxi drivers to tell them about the event coming to town; and they remind everyone how important such events are to maintaining hospitality jobs. The idea is to make the visitors feel as welcome as possible.
You can bet that the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau was no different when the first major trade show since Katrina came to town. The city pulled out all the stops to welcome the American Library Association. Yes, they held a special bash for hospitality workers at the convention center a week before the show. The two wait staff pictured here, from the Desire Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Bourbon Street, were in attendance. They were given the purple buttons you can see on their uniforms. They say “We’re Jazzed You’re Here.” And, they were given a refresher course on the difference between waiting on FEMA workers (long-term guests) and librarians (short-term guests). They also proudly told me that they got a free lunch out of the deal and it was pretty good.
Everywhere you went in New Orleans, someone thanked you for being there. They thanked you in the bars on Bourbon Street, in the T-shirt shops along Jackson Square (even when I didn’t buy anything) and every taxi driver and shuttle bus driver made a point to say, “Thank you for coming to New Orleans.”
One attendee I spoke with over lunch told me her shuttle driver that morning not only said thank you, but he stood up and gave a mini speech about how much he appreciated the fact that the American Library Association stuck with their agreement to come to New Orleans.
Whatever was said at this hospitality worker bash – it worked. Or, maybe the good folks of New Orleans really didn’t need anyone to tell them how to be welcoming or thankful. Even if the tourists seemed tiresome at times before Katrina, there’s no other city in the country where everyone - from the President of the CVB to the waiter in the average restaurant – truly knows what’s like to have all the tourists leave.
After Katrina New Orleans lost $2 billion worth of meeting, convention and trade show business. Revenues from that business represented 35 percent of the city’s operating budget. Approximately 87 events cancelled in the weeks after the storm. This show was the city’s chance to resume its place among the top exhibition destinations in the country – and it shined.
Comments