“After hoteliers met with public safety officials this spring about the responsibilities they would face by letting people stay during an emergency, some decided for the first time that they would take on only guests who were stranded, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune.”

” Although the 1,110-room Sheraton New Orleans Hotel shut down its reservations system as soon as it heard about the hurricane possibility and expected to be nearly empty once participants in two large in-house conventions checked out, General Manager Dan King said, the hotel had about 1,000 guests because the airlines shut down early.

“King said that although he keeps emergency supplies of food and water at the hotel he doesn’t have enough for 1,000 people if they’re stranded for a while. The Sheraton was shutting down its glass lobby on Sunday, and after dinner, King planned to ask all guests to come to a windowless ballroom with blankets and pillows to sleep.

“On Saturday, Delta Air Lines canceled all New Orleans flights for Sunday. United Airlines canceled all flights for Sunday and Monday. Northwest Airlines canceled all flights after 9 a.m. Sunday. Other carriers continued until Sunday afternoon.”