Gulf Coast's tourism industry readies for storm

updated 6:44 p.m. ET Aug. 29, 2008

As Hurricane Gustav gained force Friday, the Gulf Coast's tourism industry was gearing up for the key holiday weekend while keeping a wary eye on the storm and preparing for the mixed bag it may bring next week.

The weekend's Southern Decadence gay pride festival, which drew 120,000 people last year, was expected to go on as planned, and Louisiana State University's football team still aimed to kick off against Appalachian State in Baton Rouge Saturday.

"As a tourism community at this point, we are operating business as usual," said Kelly Schulz, a spokeswoman for the New Orleans' Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We've not seen any mass cancellations."

A hurricane obviously can damage hotels in its path, but those in surrounding areas can see a boost as relief and construction workers move into the area, said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Robert LaFleur.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans three years ago Friday, hotels also were used as long-term housing for people who had lost their homes.

"In a very sort of counterintuitive way, it was a net benefit for the hotels in the area because of storm displacement and temporary housing," LaFleur said. "It's not the way you want to boost your business, but unfortunately it's the reality."

Baton Rouge, which is one hour inland from New Orleans, is virtually sold out, said Theresa Overby, a spokeswoman for the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. First responders, government agencies and contractors have booked nearly all the available rooms not already taken by people involved in and watching the LSU game.

A tennis tournament planned for this weekend rescheduled, freeing up a couple of hundred rooms that were snapped up within minutes, Overby said. She said the city has secured some furnished condominiums for journalists in need of space.

Coastal residents evacuating their homes are being directed farther north.

Hurricane travel: What you should know The big airlines have issued weather waivers in the area hit by Gustav, most allowing travelers to shift tickets for free to another day and, sometimes, to another destination. What to do if you've booked travel in a storm area: Watch for airport closures and government restrictions. For instance, on Thursday the Cayman Islands restricted entry by nonresidents. Dates and destinations covered by waivers can change, so check airline Web sites for updates. Some airlines began offering waivers only for certain Caribbean cities, then added U.S. Gulf Coast cities, for example. Changing destinations is more likely than changing dates to result in a higher fare, and changes often can be made only once before fees apply. Airlines sometimes shift service to nearby cities, or add unscheduled flights to help people leave an area where a storm is headed. While the New Orleans airport was closed after Katrina, airlines added service in Baton Rouge. AP

"We just don't have the inventory," Overby said of hotels in her area.

The Sheraton New Orleans, one of very few hotels that stayed open during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and their aftermath in 2005, is prepared to house first-responders and emergency personnel in roughly 200 of its 1,100 rooms.

Tommy Morel, director of sales and marketing of the New Orleans region for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, said he is amazed at how many of the hotel's staff have volunteered to stay and ride out the storm in the event of an evacuation order in New Orleans.

"In general, everybody's really taking this seriously," Morel said. He noted that the hotel has only had a few small cancellations so far. "We gladly let them cancel," he said.

Olivier House Hotel Manager Bobby Danner said cancellations at his small family-owned hotel in the city's French Quarter jumped Friday to roughly 25 percent of his 42 rooms.

"It hasn't completely devastated the weekend," Danner said of the storm. "But it's had an effect."

Travel booking site Orbitz has e-mailed 650 travelers warning them about Gustav and expects to contact more over the weekend.

Spokeswoman Jeanenne Diefendorf said threatening storms often prompt travelers to shift bookings elsewhere, though overall bookings don't generally drop.

"When we see something like this happen earlier in the week, people will tend to look at other places, other destinations that aren't going to be affected," Diefendorf said.

Video   Gustav likely to hit U.S. Aug. 28: Tropical Storm Gustav is regaining strength and is likely to become a hurricane. MSNBC

With airlines now routinely filling more than 80 percent of seats on average — and many flights full — rebooking an alternate flight will be tricker, said Ed Perkins, a contributing editor to smartertravel.com.

"Given the flight cutbacks and high load factors you may have a heck of a tough time finding a substitute trip that quickly," he said.

So-called "weather waivers" can help travelers stuck with tickets to a storm zone, Perkins said. He noted that major air service to New Orleans was out for some three weeks after Katrina.

In an attempt to take the sting out of bad weather, Priceline.com has offered insurance-backed refunds since June for buyers of its vacation packages who see more than one-half inch of rain on more than half of the days of their trip. The refunds are automatic but don't apply to airfare and hotels booked separately, said spokesman Brian Ek. By Friday, no refunds had been issued for Gustav, which was moving across the Caribbean, he said.

The travel industry has gotten better at adapting to catastrophes since the Sept. 11 attacks, said Debbie Westlake, vice president of traveler and transaction support services at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a corporate travel agency.

"It's become the norm that we're always looking at potential events or significant weather coming through," she said. "It's just become a way of life for us to have the ability to react to situations like this."

Amtrak commuter train service is being suspended to New Orleans as four major freight railroads redirect traffic away from New Orleans ahead of the storm.

Slide show   Gustav’s wide reach Some U.S. Gulf Coast residents are already preparing as the hurricane plows through the Caribbean. more photos

Because Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. owns the tracks Amtrak trains follow into and out of the city, Amtrak's Sunset Limited service from Los Angeles to New Orleans will end in San Antonio, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. But Amtrak, through a contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will transport evacuees to Jackson, Miss. as needed, Magliari said.

Greyhound Lines Inc. will stop operating out of its main terminal in New Orleans about 7 p.m. Central time Friday, and operations will move to Baton Rouge, spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said. The federal Department of Homeland Security will take over the city-owned site, while the carrier has buses on standby in San Antonio.

But many in the industry hope Gulf Coast vacationers will stick with their plans this weekend.

"With a sunny and clear forecast for the weekend, we hope to have a normal Labor Day as people arrive on Friday evening, stay through the weekend and depart on Monday morning," said Herb Malone, president and chief executive of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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