Suzanne Becker, the general manager of the Henry Howard Hotel, expressed disappointment that the delta variant had affected their business in August. However, there was a positive outlook as guests were expected to fill almost all rooms for the first time in weeks. Other hotels were also fully booked at increased rates for holiday weekends. The cancellation of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in October due to rising coronavirus cases resulted in many reservations being canceled. Hotels were eagerly anticipating Labor Day in New Orleans, as it was a popular holiday in the city. Robert LeBlanc, owner of the boutique hotel Chloe in the Garden District, mentioned that his hotel was fully booked and had a high number of restaurant reservations for large parties. The French Quarter was expected to be bustling with visitors for Southern Decadence, also known as "gay Mardi Gras." Beaux Church, manager of three gay bars in the French Quarter, had scheduled twice as many bartenders as usual for the busy weekend. Despite having enough staff, he was confident that they would leave with a lot of tips. He believed that the weekend would have been a chance for them to recover financially from the losses they suffered during COVID-19. This would have helped them catch up on rent and pay off extra credit card debt. However, Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana on Sunday, causing damage and power outages in New Orleans before moving on to the Northeast. As a result, Church's bartenders had to evacuate to other cities, leaving the Henry Howard Hotel and many other hotels empty. Southern Decadence has been canceled once again. Even Cafe Lafitte in Exile, a gay bar known for being open 24 hours a day, had to close due to a lack of electricity, air conditioning, and a margarita machine following Hurricane Katrina. With many still without power and surrounding areas assessing the damage, New Orleans' tourism industry, a significant economic driver, is facing challenges once again. Some fear that Ida may discourage visitors from returning long-term, similar to the impact Hurricane Katrina had in 2005 when tourist numbers dropped significantly. It wasn't until 2010 that the number of visitors returned to pre-Katrina levels. Kelly Schulz, a spokesperson for New Orleans & Company, the official marketing organization for the city's tourism industry, emphasized that Hurricane Katrina did not have the same impact on New Orleans as it did on other parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. She noted that the city's tourist infrastructure was largely undamaged, and she hoped tourists would come back once power is restored. Some may argue that the city is better off without large crowds, given the high numbers of COVID patients and low vaccination rates in Louisiana. Researchers have linked the explosive outbreak of coronavirus in the city to Mardi Gras in February 2020. Restaurant owners, hotel managers, and event planners believe that they could have accommodated visitors if given the chance, despite the city's strict requirements for proof of vaccination or a recent coronavirus test and masks. Visitors were supportive of the rules as they allowed for events to proceed safely, according to Amanda Price, an event planner in New Orleans. Labor Day weekend typically is not a popular time for weddings in New Orleans due to hurricane season, but this year many couples were determined to reschedule weddings that were previously canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Cayla Contardi, a resident of Austin, Texas, expressed how busy she has been recently. She is one of Price's clients who was looking forward to having a do-over for her wedding. September 4th was her third wedding date after originally planning to get married in Tucson, Arizona, on June 20, 2020. Despite the challenges, she felt confident in proceeding with her 120-person event in a ballroom in the French Quarter as all her guests had either recovered from COVID or were fully vaccinated. On Saturday afternoon, Contardi was devastated to find out that her husband's family, who reside in New Orleans and in St Tammany Parish approximately 50 miles north of the city, were evacuating their homes. Despite the hotel informing her on Monday that her guests could no longer stay there due to significant damage, she found it difficult to come to terms with the cancellation of her wedding. "I have a beautiful dress that I've owned for three years," she stated. She has no intention of planning another wedding. Even before COVID, Labor Day had been a busy weekend for restaurants in New Orleans, as noted by Nina Compton, the chef behind Compère Lapin in the Warehouse Arts District and Bywater American Bistro in the Bywater neighborhood. She mentioned that usually many people visit the town for a big celebration before school begins, but this year she was expecting a busy week. However, when she saw the storm approaching, she realized that things would not go as planned. She found it difficult to accept that despite people in the state facing hardships, restaurants were having to waste a lot of good food. She explained that it was not possible to donate food to those in need because they did not have the means to cook it. This was her sentiment as she finished cleaning out the walk-in fridge at Compère Lapin. She had found a buyer for the produce, but the milk and fresh pasta were going to be thrown away. James Doucette, the general manager of Meals From The Heart Cafe, expressed his sadness about the waste in an email, stating that the storm was just another challenge they had to overcome. Alon Shaya, the founder of Pomegranate Hospitality, echoed this sentiment, noting that the hurricane would not only impact weekend tourists but also deter longer term visitors from coming to the restaurants. Students had recently come back to Tulane University, which was beneficial for his restaurant, Saba, located approximately a mile away. However, the university has now decided to delay classes for at least another month. This feeling of sudden change is familiar to the hospitality industry in New Orleans. At the beginning of the pandemic, business was so slow that almost half of the city's restaurants and one-third of its hotels shut down indefinitely. But with more people getting vaccinated and choosing to visit New Orleans again, optimism has increased. During the spring, business for Church, who oversees a diner and three gay bars in the French Quarter, exceeded its previous high from 2018. However, the arrival of the delta variant caused Bourbon Street to become empty, with his bars going from earning $10,000 a night to only $1,000 practically overnight. Church believes that tourists stopped coming once his staff started enforcing rules for vaccination proof and masks, rules he supports. Despite this, he was looking forward to an influx of visitors for the Southern Decadence festival, as the requirements were clearly communicated. Edgar Chase IV, also known as Dooky, who manages two Dooky Chase restaurants, described the experience as a roller coaster ride. Original Text: It should have been a big weekend for his team. Instead they’ve all had to evacuate. In these moments, it’s not money that concerns him, he said. It’s “how can we get people some type of comfort?” In his mind that should be the real focus of the hospitality industry now.

Paraphrased Text: His team was expecting a successful weekend, but they were forced to evacuate instead. During times like these, he explained that his main concern is not money, but rather providing some form of comfort to people. He believes that this should be the primary focus of the hospitality industry at present.