New Orleans businesses brace for Mardi Gras shutdown Chloe Atkins
Some bars in New Orleans have replaced the festive Mardi Gras flags that hang from their businesses at this time of year with white ones.
Beaux Church, director of Café Lafitte in Exile, Good Friends Bar and Rawhide 2010, said the white flags indicate the businesses have surrendered to the citywide crackdown during New Orleans most famous celebration. We had already purchased all of our food and drink supplies . and we had the rug pulled out from under us at the last minute, Church said. All of the bar owners would have been much better off with at least two weeks notice.
After rebound, New Orleans-area hotels saw fewer guests in November
Hotels in the five-parish region of New Orleans reported a dip in occupancy levels in November compared to the two previous months.
Industry analyst STR says occupancy stood at 40.8% compared to 49% in October and nearly 48% in September.
For a pre-pandemic comparison, the hotels reported 69.2% occupancy in November 2019.
STR collects data from hotels in Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and Orleans parishes for its New Orleans market analysis.
There are even fewer guests at downtown New Orleans hotels, according to Mavis Early, executive director of the Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association. She said levels are 10% and under on Sundays through Wednesdays, and 20% on Thursdays through Saturdays.