Two Hotel Proposals Weighed for MSY Convention Center
 

Officials for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans have whittled the number of bids for the center's new headquarters hotel down to two. Atlanta-based Portman-Phelps has proposed a $250 million hotel with 1,200 rooms and 196,000 square feet of meeting and function space, while the Austin, Texas-based Landmark Organization in conjunction with Marriott International proposed a $379 million hotel with 1,126 rooms and 206,000 square feet of meeting and function space. The decision will be made in early May. Meanwhile, officials at the New Orleans CVB say the state's legislature is considering a 1 percent hike to the city's 12 percent hotel tax to help fund the current expansion of the convention center and improvements at the Louisiana Skydome.

(Meetings & Conventions Midweek News Online)