Problems with a new state-of-the-art laundry serving the two Fairmont Hotels is causing upset and anger amongst some guests and damaging the Island?s tourism reputation, according to an employee who has worked at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess for 25 years.

As a result paper napkins are being placed on dining tables because there are not enough linen cloths, and there has also been a shortage of clean towels.

A week after a waiter at the Fairmont Southampton spoke out over similar problems being experienced at that hotel, Fairmont Hamilton Princess laundry worker Leon Matthews said the problems were filtering through to guests and causing anger in some cases.

He spoke to of his concern that both his and other hotel workers? livelihoods were being jeopardised.

?We have had this problem with the napkins for a month. There is not enough laundry being done in time,? he said.

?I have heard the tourists saying they are not going to come back to the hotel. The problems are filtering back to them.?

Mr. Matthews said he was speaking out because he would not be intimidated when the problem was such that he would be directly affected if it results in a drop off in guests at the hotel where he has worked for the past quarter of a century.

He said he had raised the issue with the hotel management.

The hotel?s laundry used to be done in Hamilton but had been switched to the facility at the Fairmont Southampton when the new laundry was opened.

?It has been done to save money but it is not working, and it is being done at the expense of tourists. I know it is not working from first-hand experience.

?I?ve heard the equipment is malfunctioning. It is affecting the supply of napkins, table clothes, sheets and towels. Some of the guests are getting frustrated and we are having a bumper season with tourists at the moment.?

Mr. Matthews said a lot of the staff are afraid to talk about the problems, but as a Bermudian and a long-standing employee he had decided to speak out in the hope that something will be done quickly to fix the problem before it starts to affect the level of guests at the hotel. ?I?m worried that tourists will not come back,? he said, adding that the atmosphere of tension at the hotel was such that it could be cut with a knife. Mr. Matthews said management had asked him not to take the story to the newspapers but he replied: ?I?m not going to be intimidated. This is part of my livelihood and I respect the tourists.?

A spokesperson for the Fairmont Hamilton Princess said there was a a problem with the new laundry and that it would be rectified as soon as possible.