From the New Orleans CVB Web site:

Meeting Planners: All city-wide conventions are cancelled through January December 1 (it was Jan. 1, then changed to Dec.). Additional assessments will be made during the next two weeks when we are out of search and rescue mode. Contact the following staff in Washington and Chicago:
Donna Karl 630-357-3480
Peggy Hagaman: 847-236-0200
JoAnne Hunsicker: 703-379-2233

Whether or not you believe in MoveOn.org’s left-leaning mission, you have to applaud them for setting up this hurricane housing site, where you can go to volunteer to lend a room or two out to those left homeless by Katrina, or go find a place to stay if you’ve been displaced.

The New Orleans Craigslist, an online classified ad site, is one place to go to connect with those who are still unaccounted for after the hurricane.

Or drop me an e-mail and I’ll post it here. (All postings I receive will be grouped here. Another good resource is the Special Events Disaster Resources Page.

I received this from a PR person yesterday, and thought I’d pass the info along:

Following the devastating destruction in New Orleans, Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe is honoring guestroom rate contracts for all meetings scheduled to be held in New Orleans between now and February, based on availability, and will donate 10% of that guestroom revenue to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund or a local New Orleans charity of their choice.

For reservations and information, meeting planners can contact (800) 955-4455 and ask for sales.

From this article in Travel Weekly, it sounds like cruiselines are thinking about lending a helping boat or two:

Carnival Cruise Lines said Aug. 31 that it had received an “initial inquiry” from the federal government about using cruise ships for Katrina relief efforts.

“Although to undertake such an endeavor would involve many complicated issues, we are actively taking a look at it,” the line said in a statement. “We are immensely saddened and concerned for the people of the Gulf Coast who have been devastated by this storm.”

Royal Caribbean Cruises CEO Richard Fain told TravelWeekly.com that his company had been in contact with the government: “We are looking at it and talking to both state and federal [agencies],” he said, “to see if there’s some way to make a difference.”

I wonder if they’d want to invite the unruly victims on board, or just the relief workers. Really, either is fine, but it’s the victims who really need a place to stay. Somehow, I don’t see that happening, though.

United Airlines is encouraging its Mileage Plus members to make a donation to the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, and Operation USA to help the victims of Katrina.

To thank you for your participation and help, we will deposit 500 miles* in your Mileage Plus account for donations of $50 (USD) or more now through October 31, 2005.

You get the miles once you fax a copy of your receipt and Mileage Plus number to United, (866) 583-5943.

This from The Professional Convention Management Association:

Leslie Zeck, CMP, Manager of Events & Conferences for the Red Cross has been tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the national headquarters staff, who has been working around the clock to coordinate this massive effort, is well-taken care of. She has reached out to the hospitality community to seek in-kind donations of lunches, dinners and snacks and sodas for the Washington, DC-based headquarters staff who are managing the operation. In an extreme gesture of generosity, the Washington St. Regis Hotel, for example, has donated box lunches to the Red Cross team. The Red Cross is also seeking donations of complimentary hotel rooms in the Washington, DC area for the staff who don’t have time to go home. To donate hotel sleeping rooms or food to the American Red Cross staff, please contact Leslie Zeck at 202-303-4244 or via email at zeckl@usa.redcross.org.

The International Association of Exhibition Management has been working to team up with the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the Destination Marketing Association International (formerly IACVB), International Association of Assembly Managers, MPI, ASAE, and PCMA to assist members who need to relocate events that were scheduled to take place in the storm affected areas, according to its Web site. There’s more on this, just have to dig through my in-box’s (now) 100-plus backup of things I want to post here. (Good thing I have the afternoon off! It’ll take me at least that long to dig through it all.)

Update: Not sure if this is related, but PCMA has started up a Hospitality Industry Relief fund “with other industry associations” to provide disaster relief to hospitality and meetings industry employees affected by Hurricane Katrina. As of the last update, it already has collected $5,000.

Click here to make a donation.

With its 143 chapter members scattered, the New Orleans chapter of National Association of Catering Executives started up a bulletin board so people can check in and let others know they are OK, and where they ended up. Here’s hoping all 143 have checked in…

To find out what the various airlines rebooking policies are, here are the links to a few airline policies:

American Airlines
Delta

US Airways