More than 45,000 hotel rooms closed by Katrina
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Damage to hotels in the Gulf Coast states hit by Hurricane Katrina was far worse than originally projected with nearly 46,000 rooms now unavailable, an industry study group says.
According to Portsmouth, N.H.-based Lodging Econometrics, 286 hotels in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama sustained storm damage that required them to at least close some rooms. The group said computer modeling originally forecast a loss of 30,000 to 40,000 rooms.
The figures, which were based on surveys and interviews with hotel officials, are preliminary, the organization said.
“The number of reported closings is likely to rise as communications systems are restored and the extunt of the damage will become better known as certain areas like New Orleans are reopened to travel, allowing hotel owners and manager and insurance adjusters to travel to the affected areas to make property assessments,” said Lodging Econometrics President Patrick Ford. Read the rest of this entry »
