In the wake of Hurricane Katrina's path of destruction, residents and travelers in the American Gulf Coast have been left with little but an unending series of questions. For those readers who had already planned (or were just beginning to plan) a vacation to New Orleans, Gulfport or Biloxi, we're offering this rundown of what airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, travel insurance companies and more are doing to get up and running -- and to meet their customers' needs.
Of course, the primary victims in this disaster are the residents and evacuees from the Gulf Cost, so we've also include links for evacuees looking for housing and jobs. See below for charities accepting donations as well as fundraisers across the country, including some unlikely charitable events such as the "Restaurants for Relief" national effort on September 27.
Airlines
Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport is now open for business, and New Orleans' Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (www.flymsy.com) began allowing limited commercial flights on September 13.
Most airlines have somewhat similar policies regarding cancellations, alternate bookings and refunds. The following should be applied only generally, as individual carriers will have slight alterations to policies
- Reservations may be rerouted to nearby airports without penalty of change fees.
- Passengers with reservations on flights into the affected areas may also rebook travel at a later date, or they may request a full refund, again without penalty.
- Requests for changes should be made no later than September 30, 2005
We recommend visiting the website for your carrier as soon as possible to learn current policies regarding reservations. Simply look for "Hurricane Katrina Travel Policy" (or a similarly named link) for complete details.
To find contact information for domestic carriers, go to www.frommers.com/articles/3065.html.
Hotels
We talked with several major hotel chains with properties in the Gulf Coast region, and all are giving full refunds for cancellations, usually through a specified date such as December 31. Most chains have detailed "Katrina Updates" on their websites, some updated daily, so simply look for the links to find each brand's current information.
Even if you didn't book a hotel in the area, note that many hotels just outside the devastated areas are booked solid with evacuees who fled the coast seeking shelter. You should call to confirm your reservation and possibly cancel it if the situation is dire; no one wants to occupy a room that an evacuee could be using.
Starwood's website notes that their three major New Orleans hotels -- the Sheraton New Orleans (open), the W New Orleans and W French Quarter (both closed) -- are in varying states of disrepair, but they're giving full refunds for cancellations in the immediate future; call 800/325-3535, or 800/368-7764 for Four Points by Sheraton, and 877-WHOTELS for W properties. They also state that they're giving discounts to evacuees seeking shelter in other city's, such as Dallas, and they're asking for donations to their Sheraton Relief Fund, which partially benefits Sheraton employees who need assistance. Log onto www.starwoodhotels.com.
Hilton is giving full refunds for all trips through November 30; they're still formulating their policy for reservations after that date. For group bookings/cancellations, they've established a Hurricane Group Bookings Hotline to answer questions at 866/973-8030. They also have a Hilton Family Hurricane Emergency Guest Assitance hotline for people trying to locate evacuated guests at 888/240-6152. And Hilton is another chain letting members donate points for cash; in this case 10,000 Hilton HHonors points counts as $25. Go to www.hiltonhhonors.com/offer/hurricane.
Marriott's website lists properties that closed because of flooding and other properties that are currently housing relief workers and evacuees at www.marriottnewsroom.com. Call 800/ 559-9352 to confirm or cancel reservations; to inquire about guests that may have been affected by the hurricane, call their hotline at 866/211-4610 (402/390-3265 outside the U.S.).
For Wyndham hotels, call 800/WYNDHAM to cancel reservations for New Orleans Wyndham properties booked through December 31, with no penalty. Additional information can be found online at www.wyndham.com.
All InterContinental hotels, including Holiday Inn properties, are giving refunds for affected hotels booked through December 31, with no penalty. They also mention overbookings as evacuees look for shelter. If you're traveling to Alabama, Arkansas, east Texas, Florida, Louisiana or Mississippi, they recommend that you call 800/331-0573 to confirm your reservation. Visit www.ichotelsgroup.com for additional details.
Best Western is also asking customers to call to confirm their reservations in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi at 800/937-8376. It lists over 40 properties affected by the hurricane, at www.bestwestern.com.
The Kimpton Group's Hotel Monaco is closed temporarily and is not accepting new reservations before October 1; this date, however, may change. All cancellation fees are currently being waived for fall reservations. For more information on reservations, employee safety and fundraising efforts, you can call 800/895-3595 or visit www.kimptonhotels.com/cares_katrina.aspx.
The website Hotels.com is not accepting reservations for hotels in New Orleans, Gulfport-Biloxi, and Mobile through November 30, 2005. If you're making a cancellation or changing a reservation in the Gulf Coast area, you should call their Customer Care line at 800/ 916-1821 or 817/333-5179. Their website links to this travel advisory page: www.hotels.com/promotion.jsp?id=2990.
For a resource list for major hotel chains, see our article at www.frommers.com/articles/923.html. For a list of accommodations in New Orleans, see www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/20_indacc.html.
Car Rentals
If you booked a car for a trip to the Gulf region, you won't need to worry about refunds. Major rental companies only charge you after you return your rental, so you obviously won't be charged if you cancel your trip. But car rental companies do have Katrina in mind, and they've been helping out people who rented cars to evacuate the Gulf by waiving their usual one-way fee. And most companies say they're working on a "case by case" basis to offer other discounts to evacuees.
For more information, please visit our resource list for car rental agencies at www.frommers.com/articles/877.html to find complete contact details.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance companies have been just as flexible as hotels in giving refunds and bending their normal policies a bit. If you bought insurance for a trip you've cancelled, you should be able to get your money back, though in some cases you may need to provide proof of your cancelled airline tickets and hotels.
Access America normally only gives hurricane-related refunds if your destination airport closes for more than 24 hours. But in this case, they're giving refunds for trips scheduled between August 24 and December 31, 2005. See their website for details; you need to cancel the rest of your trip by October 1 and submit your claim to Access America by October 15. Call 800/729-6021 or log onto www.accessamerica.com/katrina.asp.
Travel Guard International (tel. 866/644-6811; www.travelguard.com/news/090205.asp) is reaching out to help victims by helping to make travel reservations, replacing lost travel documents and even setting up a site to help evacuees find new employment (tel. 800/826-4711; www.jobsforkatrinaevacuees.com). The possibility for receiving refunds varies per policy; we suggest contacting them directly over the phone to discuss your needs.
Travel Insured (tel. 800/243-3174; www.travelinsured.com) is also giving full refunds if you're cancelling a trip to the Gulf region, and their hurricane policy also includes up to $500 towards hotels and transportation if you're delayed or have to evacuate. Policy holders can change travel dates and destinations for up to one year from the originally scheduled dates.
If you have insurance through Travelex (tel. 888/322-6776; www.travelex.com) and want to cancel a trip, their website states that they're willing to "transfer your protection plan to a future travel date," but their phone representatives couldn't confirm they'll give a full refund if you cancel altogether. They also note that they don't "have a hurricane clause right now"; presumably more details will follow.
Other Transportation
Amtrak (tel. 800-USA-RAIL; www.amtrak.com) is giving full refunds to everyone who booked a train to or from New Orleans or other affected areas, and for now they're rerouting their trains: New York-New Orleans trains will now terminate at Meridien, Chicago trains end in Jackson, and Orlando trains go to San Antonio.
Greyhound (tel. 800/231-2222; www.greyhound.com) says their "tickets are like cash, so treat them like cash," and they're good for up to a year for travel. This policy covers all types of purchases, from walk-up to online.
Road Closures
Alabama: www.dot.state.al.us/closures
Louisiana: www8.dotd.louisiana.gov/emergency
Mississippi: www.gomdot.com
Donations
Before you donate directly to the Red Cross: note that many companies are matching employee donations dollar-for-dollar, or "in multiples," so you'll instantly double your donation. Check with your personnel office for a donation form, and note that the Red Cross Tax Identification Number (or EIN) is 53-0196605.
If you're a preferred member of any hotel chain, note that many of these clubs allow you to donate your membership points as cash towards relief efforts, usually the Red Cross. InterContinentals Hotel Group, for example, which includes all Holiday Inns, will convert Priority Club Rewards points into dollars towards the Red Cross, then match those donations dollar-for-dollar, up to $125,000. Other club programs are giving "incentives" for members to donate cash, such as Starwood Hotel's offer to give 500 bonus "star points" to preferred guests who donate $50 or more to the Red Cross.
Of course, the most encouraging news from these hotel chains is how much they're doing to assist relief workers and evacuees, in some cases providing rooms free of charge for relief workers. Marriott is donating $3 million to relief efforts and giving undisclosed room rate discounts when necessary.
Additionally, members of airline frequent flier clubs can donate miles earned to cover the transportation of relief workers. Check individual air carriers' sites for specifics.
American Red Cross: 866-GET-INFO or 800-HELP-NOW; www.redcross.orgFEMA: tel. 800/621-3362; www.fema.govHabitat for Humanity: www.habitat.orgNational Emergency Research Registry: www.swern.govSalvation Army: tel. 800/725-2769; www.salvationarmyusa.orgFundraising Events
Share our Strength and OpenTable.com are organizing Restaurants for Relief across the country. On Tuesday, September 27, participating restaurants are donating a portion of their profits to relief efforts: www.opentable.com
Charity events are happening all over New York City, and a few are listing in this New York Daily News article: www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/culture/story/344078p-293582c.html
Citysearch.com is listing fundraising events in urban areas on each of its specific city pages. Type in your city zipcode then look for ¿Aid for Katrina Victims.¿
For a list of a few events and a rundown of charity efforts made by the travel industry, visit www.travelcompaniescare.org and www.tia.org/katrina/index.html.
Safe Lists
Many websites are posting lists of people who are safe and their whereabouts. Visit to add your name to the list or to search for others.
KatrinaSafe.com is organized by the Red Cross. You can also call 877/568-3317. You'll find a long list of links for similar sites at www.katrinasafe.com/OtherLocatingSites.htm.
CNN's Safe List: www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/hurricanes/list.
The heartbreaking www.missingkids.com site, set up by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children lists more than 600 orphans, with photos.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has set up the Family News Network site to locate family members: www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina/locate.
Times-Picayune links to this "I'm OK" site: www.nola.com/forums/imok/index.ssf?initial=true
Tulane University: www.tulane.edu and https://tulane.spatang.com
Pets
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is asking for donations and volunteers to care for the homeless pets left behind by the hurricane. Log onto www.aspca.org or call 866/275-3923.
Meanwhile, the Humane Society of Utah (www.utahhumane.org) has been officially named by the Red Cross as a drop spot for pet supply donations.
The website BestFriends.org says they're in contact with people at the disaster area to locate stranded and abandoned pets. If you've lost a pet, e-mail hurricane@bestfriends.org or call 435/644-3965, ext. 4455 and list your name, current contact information, address where animal was left and the name and description of the pet (or send photo).
Doing similar work is www.petfinder.com; their site also tells you how you can adopt a homeless pet.
For Evacuees and NOLA Residents
Marriott offers help to families in need if you call 866/211-4610 or go online to https://marriott.com/default.mi.
The Travel Industry Association of America (www.katrinajobs.org) is partnering with Travel & Tourism Coalition and the Travel Business Roundtable and launching a website on September 15 to help hurricane victims find new jobs.
Finding Housing: MoveOn.org launched the Hurricane Housing project (www.hurricanehousing.org) to match homeless hurricane victims with families willing to offer a spare bedroom or a place to live.
Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (tel. 800/469-4848; www.loep.state.la.us) provides assistance to families.
Louisiana Disaster Recovery Contractor helps families recover their homes. Visitwww.home-contracting.com/Louisiana/Disaster_Recovery.html for more information.
State Government Resources
- Alabama: www.governor.state.al.us
- Florida: https://eogtmp.sto.fl.gov/katrina_recovery
- Louisiana: https://katrina.louisiana.gov
- Mississippi: www.msema.org/index.htm
- Texas: www.state.tx.us
Maps
Google Maps (https://maps.google.com) offers satellite photos of the Gulf Coast.
C & C Technologies has created a "New Orleans Flood Map" that allows you to click on an area of the city to get flooding details. Click on the link at the bottom of the page: www.mapper.cctechnol.com/floodmap.php.
Additional Resources
The courageous Times-Picayune is still going strong on the web at www.nola.com, with up-to-the-minute news, commentary, blogs and forums.
Craigslist has a concise page of links (www.craigslist.com/about/help/katrina_aid.html) for all things related to Katrina; look here to donate to charities, locate missing persons, join with the relief effort and even open your home to evacuees needing shelter.
New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau (www.neworleanscvb.com) gives a full update of conditions in the city and discusses the future of tourism in the city. One tidbit of good news amidst so much devastation: "The Quarter is dry and free from water. Many parts of the Vieux Carre show little evidence that a catastrophic hurricane just passed."
Online photo blog Flickr.com allows you to search by "tags" to find first-images of Katrina's effects. Enter terms like "katrina," "hurricane" or "new orleans," for example and see, in devastating detail, why everyone's contribution is needed.
Share your thoughts and any additional resources on our Louisiana and Missisippi Message Boards today.