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SUMMARY OF HURRICANE RELIEF ACTIONS
U.S. TRAVEL-AFFILIATED INDUSTRY CORPORATIONS
Alaska, America West, American, ATA, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, United, U.S. Airways, and Air Canada worked together during "Operation Air Care" to fly more than 13,000 New Orleans residents from the area. It was an unprecedented U.S. civilian airlift.
American Express has donated $1 million to the American Red Cross, plus employee matching. AmEx is also contributing $1 for every donation to a FEMA-recommended relief organization made on an AmEx card and will match up to an additional $1 million in total donations.
The Boyd Gaming Corporation is providing payroll benefits for eight weeks to its 1,000 affected employees in Kenner, Louisiana. The company has established a relief center at Sam's Town Tunica and is operating an employee assistance hotline.
Carnival Cruise Lines chartered three ships to the federal government to house evacuees and/or emergency workers.
Cendant Corporation, which established a special employee hotline to coordinate distribution of pay and other benefits to employees in the region, is providing temporary housing for displaced employees in its hotel and time-share affiliates and providing housing and rental vehicles to emergency response personnel. It is also active in relief fundraising and will match employee donations up to $500,000.
The Coca-Cola Company has committed $5 million to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and its displaced employees. Coca-Cola has also committed to providing 40 truckloads of filtered water per day to two key FEMA centers, has sent over 100 employees to Miami to assist Florida Power & Light, and has provided 250,000 cases of water, POWERade and juices to FEMA and other agencies.
Delta Air Lines operated 25 flights with FEMA, lifting 3,000 evacuees. SkyMiles can be donated to the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army to send relief workers to the affected areas.
The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation immediately donated $1 million to hurricane relief. The company is also shipping thousands of vehicles to affected areas to provide transportation to residents and emergency workers.
Harrah's Entertainment opened the Harrah's Gulf Coast Region Assistance Center to provide health services to employees, assistance with compensation and benefits, assistance with housing and access to Internet communications. Harrah's has established a $1 million Employee Recovery Fund, is paying full base pay to affected employees for 90 days and is giving preference in hiring at other locations for their more than 6,000 affected employees.
The company is also paying the difference in pay for employees who have been activated to serve in National Guard or Reserve military units.
Isle of Capri Casinos established a $500,000 relief fund.
Loews Hotels has established the Loews Foundation Hurricane Relief Fund, which will benefit the employees of Loews Corporation and its subsidiaries, including employees of Loews New Orleans Hotel, Diamond Offshore, Boardwalk Pipelines, as well as other local subsidiaries. Loews led an effort to locate its New Orleans employees for transfer and employment at other Loews hotels around the U.S.
McDonald's Corporation has made an initial contribution of $5 million to the American Red Cross and established a payroll deduction charity contribution campaign for company employees. McDonald's will match contributions, initially up to $2 million, and is providing mobile units and has committed its distribution system to Red Cross relief efforts. They are additionally converting 100 percent of the proceeds of the Ronald McDonald House Charity canisters to hurricane relief efforts.
Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will contribute a total of $500,000 to the Marriott & Ritz-Carlton Disaster Relief Fund to directly assist Marriott associates and Ritz-Carlton employees with both managed and franchised hotels. Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will donate another $500,000 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief efforts to benefit all who live in the affected communities. In addition, the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation will contribute up to $2 million to hurricane relief efforts. The Foundation will match dollar-for-dollar all contributions received by the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Disaster Relief Fund up to $1 million dollars. Separately, the Marriott family has pledged an additional $1 million towards longer-term disaster relief efforts.
MGM Mirage established a call center and a paycheck distribution center for its more than 3,400 affected employees in Biloxi.
The National Basketball Association has contributed $2 million.
The National Football League is contributing $1 million to the Red Cross, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and players are appearing in public service announcements encouraging donations to relief organizations. Additionally, 15 teams are staging stadium collections at games and making their own contributions.
A team of Papa John's International volunteers made 10,000 pizzas to help feed evacuees staying in Houston's Astrodome and also provided bottled water and mobile pizza kitchens to feed people in affected areas.
Penn National Gaming Co. is establishing a $1 million Employee Recovery Fund in addition to paying displaced employees for the next 90 days.
Pinnacle Entertainment is organizing donations of supplies from sister properties, payroll deductions to the Red Cross and matching the first $300,000 of such donations.
The Southeast Tourism Society raised over $27,000 for the Red Cross at the Silent Auction during its annual conference in Charleston, South Carolina, September 6-8, 2005. For details of all their efforts click here.
Visit Florida created a Gateways for Gulf Aid online auction where consumers can bid on Florida vacations with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief.
The Walt Disney Company has contributed $2.5 million to relief and rebuilding efforts, including a $500,000 grant to the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network to aid volunteer center efforts.
Wendy's organized a special team to address the needs of employees displaced by the hurricane. Additional benefits include ongoing paychecks for those who are out of work, assistance in finding another job and additional stipends to help meet immediate needs.
U.S. TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
The Airports Council International coordinated efforts to restore and repair critical air transport infrastructure in affected areas and created a humanitarian relief fund.
The Air Transport Association coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation to launch "Operation Air Care." The rescue effort, operated by passenger and cargo carriers of their membership, provided emergency airlift to more than 25,000 New Orleans residents.
The American Association of Museums provided information on how to access federal preservation funds following disasters and similarly for cultural institutions such as universities, libraries, and museums.
The website for the American Bus Association includes a weblog where members can get information from and about bus industry colleagues in affected areas as well as information on federal rules related to buses that have been revised due to the hurricane. It also has information about an ABA golf tournament to raise money for victims.
The American Gaming Association has donated $10,000 to the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army. It has set up the Gaming Industry Katrina Relief Fund to raise industry dollars to provide disaster relief and assistance to affected gaming employees in Mississippi and Louisiana. Throughout the Global Gaming Expo, individuals are able to submit donations at kiosks on-site.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association is operating a Katrina job board for restaurant, hospitality and retail employees. The association has worked with its members to secure blocks of hotel rooms for evacuees and emergency contractors. They are also coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security on the Long-Term Hurricane Survivor Housing Assistance Program.
The American Society of Travel Agents has an initiative to connect members in affected areas with other members who can provide assistance.
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association has contributed $50,000 to the American Red Cross and $50,000 to other relief efforts.
The Destination Marketing Association International has worked to provide updated information on the status of and efforts by convention and visitor bureaus in affected areas.
The International Council of Cruise Lines has documented cruise line-related relief such as chartered cruise ships housing emergency workers, fundraising through industry employer matches to employee pay deductions, and direct relief efforts such as transportation of fresh water to affected areas and of housing related goods.
In response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has spearheaded a series of initiatives in an attempt to reach out to members and the industry-at-large. To view press release, click here. HSMAI has also created an In-Depth Hurricane/Disaster Recovery Resource Center on the HSMAI Foundation eConnect Web site. This resource center will be updated daily with the latest news related to the impact on the industry, statements from industry companies, disaster-related recovery resources, and perspectives from industry leaders. Access is available to all HSMAI members, as well as non-members who register for a 60-day trial use of eConnect. Go to the resource center via www.hsmaieconnect.org.
The International Council of Shopping Centers coordinated an effort with FEMA to identify and catalog empty shopping center and retail space in the impacted areas that could potentially be used for housing for hurricane victims. To date over, over 7 million square feet of space has been made available for FEMA's use. Additionally, ICSC's Educational Foundation will be accepting and matching members' cash contributions to the American Red Cross.
A weblog at the Meeting Professionals International web site connects all members with those in the affected areas and another weblog connects organizations with available meeting space with those who've had to change locations for meetings and events originally scheduled in affected areas
The National Business Travel Association has focused on extensive links updating the status of hotels and airlines affected by the hurricane, and is documenting stories about successfully relocated travelers.
The National Restaurant Association is organizing a "Dine Around" October 5, a national fundraising effort to support the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. They're also maintaining a master reference for national restaurant relief funds and initiatives.
The website of the National Tour Association includes a Hurricane Katrina Update section including information from travel industry organizations in many sectors and a member weblog to exchange information with or about those in affected areas. The association's member magazine includes a special supplement of to raise money for "Build Back Our Coast Fund."
The Travel Industry Association of America and the Travel Business Roundtable launched KatrinaJobs.org, a clearinghouse for travel and tourism industry jobs. The website will make available thousands of jobs to workers displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The organizations are also detailing losses in the travel industry such as one in five jobs in the affected region are in travel and tourism.
U.S. GOVERNMENT
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security website has an Emergencies & Disasters section that links to many U.S. Government Departments and agencies which have programs that are applicable to organizations and/or individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina. A particularly useful listing of information is provided in the "Declared Disasters & Assistance" section under "Hurricane Katrina: What Government is Doing" found here.
Government Waivers and Dispensations Authorized for Hurricane Katrina Response can be found here.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has a useful site housing information regarding Disaster Notices, its Disaster Recovery Mission, Disaster Declarations, FAQs about SBA Disaster Loans, Loan Information including Home & Property Loans, Physical Disaster Loans, Economic Injury Loans, Military Reservist Loans, and Disaster Loans Approved.
GovBenefits.gov provides information about various forms of Government assistance.
The Internal Revenue Service provides useful information including FAQs about your Tax Relief.
The Environmental Protection Agency has been reporting on its response activities, results from testing flood water and air screening, and providing warnings re potential environmental health hazards when returning to homes or businesses.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Homes and Communities web site has a Hurricane Katrina Resource Page.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has provided a web site regarding how to get help in social and human services.
The U.S. Department of Labor has provided a web site that links to various job training initiatives, grant programs, and employee benefits.
The U.S. Government's Web Portal, Firstgov.gov has a section on Hurricane Recovery which includes information about Shelter and Housing for Survivors, Health and Safety, What the Government is Doing and FAQs.
The Department of Commerce has a section devoted to Hurricane Katrina. This webpage offers comprehensive information about how to volunteer, donate, or receive assistance. The Department of Commerce's Economic Development Agency also has a helpful website.
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