Or, if you want to sleep in you car, come without reservations. New Orleans is a big convention city, so be prepared to share a hotel with the entire Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Retired Baptist Plumbers. Towns within an hour's drive are Metairie, Kenner, Covington, Laplace, Mandeville, Hammond, or Slidell. In Mississippi check out Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, or Waveland. The small town hotels are also usually safer and less expensive.
Prices are often very reasonable.
New Orleans and even the entire state of Louisiana are often compared to a Third World Country - lots of politicians get indicted. New Orleans is the only large southern city that is actually decreasing in population. It's a very poor town. A murder is committed almost every day. Tourist don't get murdered often but they do get damaged.