Meetings Today LIVE! South kicked off November 16 in Big Easy style, headquartered in a luxury hotel that embodies the festive joie de vivre of New Orleans, complete with a front door opening out onto Bourbon Street and wrought-iron balconies overlooking the most celebratory street in the world.
Held through November 19 at the 483-room Royal Sonesta New Orleans, the hosted-buyer event will feature one-on-one buyer supplier appointments, site inspections and social functions at some of the city’s top meetings properties, along with educational sessions from MPI’s Jessie States and keynote speaker Deborah Gardner, who just set a Guinness World Record as the oldest woman to swim the frigid, 21-mile Catalina Channel.
The opening night reception, held in the quintessentially New Orleans courtyard at the Royal Sonesta, featured the tasty treats that make the city’s cuisine a cultural treasure—think andouille sausage gumbo, two varieties of barbecued oysters and hearty bread pudding drizzled with crème anglaise. The opener kicked off with salutations from the Meetings Today crew along with Walt Leger III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company and 2025 Meetings Trendsetter, and Dave Bilbe, general manager of the Royal Sonesta New Orleans.
Bilbe told the attendees about the major renovation project that will touch all major aspects of the hotel, which opened in 1969 and holds the distinction of being the last new hotel allowed in the French Quarter, that is set to be completed June 1.
Like the “Royal” hotels in the Sonesta brand family, the New Orleans property boasts that signature flair that makes the destination a favorite both for leisure travelers and meetings of all sizes.
“The Royals have a little more personality—in the uniqueness of the properties and destinations—and this is iconic New Orleans, with its courtyard, balconies and the pool deck—with the largest pool in the French Quarter,” Bilbe said.
And fitting for any New Orleans program, even the welcome amenity room drop from Box of Care Gift Company had that unique Big Easy personality, loaded with Mardi Gras beads, a Café du Monde coffee cup and cartridges, Sally’s pralines, Zapp’s New Orleans-style Voodoo Kettle Chips, a cannister of creole seasoning and a mini-bottle of El Guapo Hurricane Cocktail Mixer.
Indeed, the table was set for a signature Crescent City experience.
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
- Royal Sonesta New Orleans
- Hyatt Regency New Orleans
- Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
- New Orleans Marriott
- The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel
- New Orleans & Company
- Experience Columbia SC
- The Brandit Agency
- Wandering Maverick Photo+Film
Want to attend one of our upcoming events? Applications are open now for our future events. Click here to apply to one of our upcoming events.
