New Orleans Testimonials

Don't take our word for it. Read our collection of New Orleans testimonials.

We could talk about how New Orleans is the perfect meeting destination all day long, but it might mean more coming from meeting planners, event goers and industry leaders like you. Hear their “One Time, in New Orleans...” stories, then write your own.

New Orleans is Built to Host | Meeting Testimonials 2022

Testimonials

“It is with utmost enthusiasm I relay my recent experience with New Orleans & Company. From our first meeting in July, to the final globally televised Miss Universe event in January, the team at New Orleans & Company consistently proved themselves to be great partners. Together, we worked to ensure the best possible experience for our staff, crew and the delegations who traveled from around the world to attend the pageant. For our field production team, when they hit a roadblock or needed creative input, New Orleans & Company stepped in to assist and help pave the way for a smooth production. Additionally, we were able to access their strong ties to the New Orleans community and the state of Louisiana to maximize the two week period leading up to the event. They were all generous with their time and guidance. I have produced Miss Universe events in many countries and cities over the last twenty years and I can say without hesitation, the working relationship with New Orleans & Company was one of the most positive I have ever experienced.” — Paula Shugart - President | Miss Universe Organization, February, 2023

“Our Annual Meeting in NOLA was a big success. The energy of the city brought out the enthusiasm of the attendees. We had the largest attendance in 20 years! The food, music and people combine to make a perfect meeting and networking location. The Marriott was outstanding in every way. We will definitely be looking to come back.”
- Michelle Malloy, CMP, Senior Director of Meetings | National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, November 2022

“Hosting WEFTEC 2022 - the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF’s) annual technical exhibition and conference – in New Orleans felt like an eagerly anticipated family reunion with the City’s hospitality community. Through our partnership with New Orleans & Company and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, we elevated WEFTEC participants’ experience and exceeded their expectations. Our shared “wins” included activating the convention registration desk at the airport for convenient badge pickup and engaging with local organizations like Reconcile New Orleans, who hosted an inspirational gathering for WEF’s Board of Trustees at Café Reconcile, and the New Orleans Food Truck Coalition, who piloted service on the pedestrian park outside of the convention center. We look forward to returning for WEFTEC 2024!” — Stephanie D. Jones, CAE, CMP - Managing Director, Professional Development and Event Strategy | Water Environment Federation, November, 2022

“The American Diabetes Association (ADA) was thrilled to be back in-person for the first time since 2019 for the 82^nd Scientific Sessions, and we could not have been more excited to be back in New Orleans! The entire team was fantastic to work with and extremely available for our many questions. Our attendees, exhibitors, staff, and vendors all enjoyed the New Orleans hospitality, food, and entertainment. We especially appreciated the Friday evening Networking Reception second-line with stilt walkers and wonderful music. ADA looks forward to returning to New Orleans in 2026!”
- Laura Witowski, Director of Convention Operations | American Diabetes Association, June 2022

“The Convention Center team was excellent to work with during pre planning and on site. From the sales team to the production team, all team members were knowledgeable and accessible to AUA staff. It was a unique experience as they helped make our stressful jobs fun. It truly was an enjoyable experience to be back in person in such a fantastic location. We felt supported and welcomed. Quite frankly, we could not have asked for a better experience from this team. New Orleans & Company worked so hard to make our experience a great one. Sallee Pavlovich and Marybeth Guarisco ensured AUA’s social functions went off without a hitch and that our VIP’s felt welcomed in New Orleans. The team also worked closely with the hotel community to prepare them for AUA’s meeting. We are so appreciative of their support.” — Janet Skorepa, Executive Vice President | American Urological Association, May, 2022

“Planning for AORN Expo 2022 was highly collaborative – the evolving event landscape and keeping up with best practice health & safety protocols were challenges that the Convention Center and New Orleans & Co. helped us stay on top of. Everyone on the team was endlessly patient with our many questions and requests for information & so helpful in sharing what they were seeing work well at other conferences as face-to-face meetings came back. The Convention Center Team is top-notch and I so appreciate our partnership! The team works hard, they care about your event’s success as much as you do and they are fun to be around. I always leave any conversation with Elaine in a better mood than I was before. Cassie is an incredible Event Manager and such a joy to work with.”
- Emily O'Connell, CMP; Director of Meetings at AORN | Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, March 2022

“My experience with New Orleans & Company was awesome! Their team is extremely professional, knowledgeable, and fun to work with. They listen and work to achieve your goals and objectives. The convention center staff were equally as awesome to work with. Everyone was a team player and worked to make the Commodity Classic a success. If you are able to book your meeting in New Orleans you can expect a welcoming and professional experience from their hospitality team and of course some of the best food around! Thanks for helping make the 2022 Commodity Classic a success. ” — Peggy Findley, Show Director | Commodity Classic, March 2022

“New Orleans is the epitome of hospitality and was the ideal place to host our first convention in two years. It was like returning home. The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and New Orleans & Company staff helped to make our meeting a success by having solutions ready for whatever challenges we faced. The staff was engaged, prepared and proactive every step of the way. Sometimes they knew what we needed before we did! Big Easy is a perfect nickname for the city and their entire hospitality industry.”
- Debra Rosencrance, CMP, CAE; VP of Meetings & Exhibits | American Academy of Ophthalmology, AAO 2021, November 2021

“We couldn’t have asked for a better experience while planning and executing our NAEC 2021 Convention and Exposition in New Orleans. Like many planners, we were challenged with navigating COVID-19 restrictions and attendee questions following Hurricane Ida, and we couldn’t have done it without the trust and support from New Orleans & Company, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Attendees and exhibitors are still talking about how smooth the event ran. It was such a relief to know that we were in good hands every step of the way.” — Rena Cozart, Executive Director | (NAEC) Convention & Exposition, October 2021

“It has been a great pleasure to work with the New Orleans team at the WFIoT Plenary event held at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Thank you for the great services & support you provided us at the early stage of engagement and throughout the journey of WFIoT 2021 event. We appreciate you providing contact for specific workshops and ultimately helping us hold an onsite event despite difficult circumstances caused by the pandemic.
Special thanks goes to Emily Smith, Convention Services Manager, for her dedication, facilitation and follow-up with other personnel for a local microsite for WFIoT, connecting us with Public Affairs Department, and for following up on our request to invite the Mayor. Thanks to Erica De La Rosa, Marketing & Communications Manager for setting the microsite for WFIoT and providing and updating the appropriate links converting up-to-date information about WFIoT and later handout New Orleans special on-site program. We appreciate the support and guidance received from Tara Letort, Senior Director Group Public Relations in drafting a media alert. We were pleased to circulate the list of media to our WFIoT Chairs and appreciate the presence of some of the analysts and dialogue that took place during the onsite event. Your professionalism and great support to IEEE and WFIoT are highly appreciated.”
- Fawzi Behmann, Chairperson | IEEE World Forum on the Internet of Things (WFIoT), June 2021

“The Hilton New Orleans staff was amazing...every single one of them. We hope to be back soon. I usually have something post-meeting, but I cannot think of one single problem. Any issue that arose was literally dealt with in a matter of minutes, if not seconds, thanks to the team. It was like magic. I’ve never seen anything like it.” — Karen Avery, Director of Planning with the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians | 2021 Annual Conference, June 2021

“Just wanted to thank you for your help and support on promoting the meeting. You all were super in all aspects! Can’t thank you enough. The meeting was a huge success. Well attended and extremely happy docs. You all are good people.” — Ross Rollins, Director, Creative Services & Digital Communications | AAO-HNS 2019

"There’s only one word to sum up ACC.19 and that’s “happy.” Rarely do you find a city that welcomes you like family but that’s what New Orleans does. It’s just how they do business and an integral part of how they assisted with our planning process. A key component of our success was the partnership with New Orleans & Company, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and their in-house partners, the entire hospitality community and our huge family of vendors who travel with us from show-to-show and who mesh seamlessly with our onsite partners. The planning process led by the ACC team brought together more than a meeting, it was an experience! ACC was thrilled with a total attendance of 17,200, which exceeded the previous year’s attendance by several hundred. It was an extraordinary event and the “happiest” meeting ever because of the superb relationships that we’ve formed with our New Orleans family. We look forward to returning!" - Sue Sears Hamilton, AVP/Team Leader | ACC Annual Meetings and Programs 2019

“I found the entire team at New Orleans & Company a delight to work with. Responsive, engaging, and eager to promote our conference and trade show - not just to the city of New Orleans, but also helped share our story across the US and beyond. We can directly attribute some of the wins of our show to the help they provided in promoting it. Cheers—it was a great experience.” — Kathleen Stoehr, Director of Community & Content Strategy | UBM Americas, 2019

"On behalf of the nearly 9,000 attendees at the recent Cattle Industry Convention, I want to express my appreciation for the hospitality and great time that we experienced in New Orleans. I heard many comments from convention attendees about how friendly the people of New Orleans were from the Uber drivers to the restaurant staff to the people working in the convention center. I can assure you that this attitude was noticed by the attendees from all 50 states and it played a role in us having a successful convention." - Kendal Frazier, Chief Executive Officer | National Cattlemen’s Beef Association 2019

“The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) was fortunate to have its 2018 Annual Convention and World Languages Expo in New Orleans in November. What a huge success! We had approximately 7,000 attendees from over 30 countries representing all languages at all levels of instruction. Everyone from the hotels to the convention bureau to the convention center was just wonderful to work with during the planning process and it really paid off because everything came off without a hitch. I would highly recommend New Orleans to any group planning a conference. ” — Julia Richardson, Director of Convention and Marketing | ACTFL 2018 Annual Convention and World Languages Expo

"As the senior event manager for our largest conference, drawing more than 8,000 participants, a key function I have is to manage expectations in an uncontrolled environment. New Orleans & Company and the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center staff consistently communicated with me so that I could properly prepare my team, as well as my executives. Having just returned from our event, I am pleased to say there were no surprises. When an issue arose, as they will for any event, we managed through them together. Our 64th Annual Employee Benefits Conference was one of the first events in the building as construction started on Convention Center Blvd. Because the Convention Center staff gave us weekly and eventually daily updates leading up and during our event, we were able to get our attendees to the Convention Center on time. Both New Orleans & Company and the Convention Center team were responsive to our needs, and understood the unique concerns of our attendees. " - MaryBeth Jacobs, CMP, Director of Meetings | International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 2018

“Erica and Tara at NOLA have gone above and beyond anything I’ve experienced before in helping to arrange our filming schedule, and they were so easy and pleasant to work with. I want to say again how wonderful this CVB has been. I was blown away!” — Kate Maher, Senior Director, Organizational Communications | National Cattlemen’s Beef Association 2018

"THANK YOU for all your help with AFP’s recent conference in New Orleans. Overall it was a smashing success, with strong attendance and revenue, and also very positive feedback from conference attendees. We appreciate everything you and everyone else at the CVB did to make it so, from help with planning, marketing/PR ideas, to the on-site welcome to AFP attendees. I’m a strong advocate for bringing the AFP conference back to New Orleans in the not-so-distant future." - Jeff Rupp, Vice President | Association of Fundraising Professionals IHQ 2018

“I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for your support of The Frontier 2018. The event was nothing short of excellent!!! Without your guidance and support, it could not have happened.” — Hank Torbert, founder | The Frontier 2018

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