NEW ORLEANS— Hilton Hotels Corp.s flagship property here, the 1,600-room Hilton Riverside, is taking the opportunity to upgrade the propertys meeting space beyond damage resulting from Hurricane Katrina. According to SVP, Central Region Operations, Ken Smith, damage from the hurricane itself was relatively modest. Hotel occupancy in the wake of the storm has been strong with a large percentage of bookings from FEMA workers. The FEMA crews arent using the hotels extensive meeting facilities, however, which allowed time to Hilton to renovate the ballroom and other function spaces. The property will then be in good shape to offer meeting planners state-of-the-art space, when conventions begin returning to the city in Spring 2006, Smith said. The hotel, meanwhile, is set to begin accepting transient reservations, starting next week.
