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Support New Orleans’ rebuilding efforts with Marriott stay

— Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans

Empty strip malls, abandoned homes, a suburb left with just a portion of its former populace — these are part of the fabric of a New Orleans that now, over three years after Hurricane Katrina, is still damaged and struggling to rebuild, according to a recent Associated Press article.

President Barack Obama’s administration has pledged new assistance, including a $50-million program for housing. Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs, addressed the region with a pledge of partnership for “a new beginning in New Orleans and across the gulf,” according to the AP report.

In welcoming visitors, New Orleans has been able to maintain a measure of its signature celebratory flair (e.g., Mardi Gras). But, yes, there’s more work to be done to get the whole city thriving again. If you go to the Big Easy for the parties and familiar sites, consider lending a hand and a little time toward the rebuilding efforts, or at least staying where some of your expenditures go to a good cause. A package currently offered by the New Orleans Marriott makes doing a bit of good a piece of cake.

Deal: If you book the “Care Concierge” package, you’ll receive recommendations via e-mail on local groups that might be able to use your help, and $50 of your package rate will be donated to Habitat for Humanity’s New Orleans efforts. Plus, free breakfast is thrown in. Rates start at $159 per night (pre-tax). For reservations, use promotion code “P54.”

When: Valid for stays now through Oct. 29, 2009.

Contact: Marriott, (866) 530-3763

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans. Credit: clementine gallot on Flickr]

This entry was posted on Monday, March 9, 2009 at 2:51 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Deals, Hotels, New Orleans & Louisiana, Southern States, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

One Comment on “Support New Orleans’ rebuilding efforts with Marriott stay”

Chucho Says:
March 11th, 2009 at 5:54 am
Marriott lobbies heavily for the H2-B visa program, which allows hotels to bring in foreign temp workers. The Marriott in New Orleans is one of a handful of hotels (including the Ritz and, until it was sued for bad labro practices, Decatur) that in New Orleans has consistently petitioned to hire foreign workers as housekeepers. (For more info go to the DOL’s FLCDataCenter.com and download the spreadsheets for H2B visas for 2000-2007 to find all the petition data and you will see the Marriott and the Ritz as well as a few others on that list).

It is better to support hotels that hire 100% of their housekeepers locally, I would not go to the Marriott in New Orleans. The Marriott should be hiring locals for those housekeeping and clerk jobs. (I’m not anti-immigrant, I’m just pro-New Orleans.)