A former chief executive of the Bermuda Tourism Authority has spoken of the urgent need to increase demand for hotel beds ahead of the reopening of the renovated Fairmont Southampton.

Charles Jeffers II, who left the quango in June 2022, warned that other hotels on the island could suffer badly from a fall in their numbers when the facility was back in business and questioned what was being done to mitigate that.

He said: “With the Fairmont Southampton scheduled to reopen in the next 18 to 24 months, the industry needs to begin working towards creating that demand now so that when those 600 rooms come back online, other hotels don’t experience a drop-off.”

Mr Jeffers added: “I would like nothing more than to see a thriving tourism industry in Bermuda. A thriving tourism industry is one that is seen and felt by everyone here.”

An industry source, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Royal Gazette there was concern about whether the embattled BTA, which is grappling with the damning findings of an external review of its workplace culture, had a plan.

The source said: “There needs to be a concerted effort in terms of growing the tourism economy.”

They challenged a claim, contained in the authority’s report on the 2024 fourth-quarter and year-end tourism results, that “limited hotel capacity remains a key constraint on air-visitor growth in the summer months”.

The source said: “I don’t believe that’s the true issue. They need to come up with a plan where they market to create the awareness of Bermuda as a tourism destination during these [off-season] months.

“If we don’t have [enough] hotel rooms, why aren’t we 100 per cent full any day of the year?

“The excuse of saying we don’t have sufficient hotel rooms because Fairmont Southampton isn’t open … they need to be drilling down and looking at how do we create demand during these periods of the year when we don’t have high occupancy.

The source said the reopening of the Fairmont Southampton, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar transformation, would cause a shortage of hospitality-industry staff — and the BTA should be planning for that.

“How do we incentivise anyone unemployed to look at the hotel industry as a viable employer?” they asked.

“We still have the challenge of closed and restricted categories. If we don’t address that, we are going to have the individuals who — when the Fairmont Southampton closed went to other properties — they will quickly move back to their former employer.”

The source said confidence among the public and stakeholders in the tourism authority had been damaged by its well publicised internal strife and that it brought “into question the credibility of the organisation and their effectiveness”.

Noting that the BTA received a government grant of more than $16 million this year, the source said its “effectiveness … in terms of driving strategies that permit us to grow air arrivals is critical”.

They suggested the authority needed a “come to Jesus moment” to sort out the workplace problems that have led to 30 employees leaving in little more than 2½ years.

“If there is an underlying reason for this, then we have to figure out what’s the reason and what’s the solution, and how proactive are we going to be in addressing what these issues may be.

“It needs to be addressed and the appropriate steps taken to turn the organisation around.”

The review released to the public last Thursday found that employees viewed the culture of the BTA as unprofessional, domineering, lacking accountability and trust, and one in which they felt “siloed”.

A second source with knowledge of the situation, said the board, now working under acting chairman William Griffith, had hired an external human resources firm to take “some immediate measures”.

The BTA confirmed last night that “a human resources and cultural reset initiative“ had begun.

It claimed that the audit represented the next step in “fostering a strong, transparent, and inclusive workplace culture” and came after a recent culture review.

Mr Griffith said: “The board is committed to creating an environment where transparency, fairness and accountability are standard practice.

“This initiative is not about assigning, blame but about strengthening our foundation for the future.”

Key areas of focus include a review of past employee departures, listening to recommendations for change by existing staff, evaluating HR policies and developing strategic recommendations for improving workplace culture and communication.

The second source said that chief executive Tracy Berkeley had not undergone a performance review under the former board chaired by the departed Wayne Caines.

Regarding the culture review, Owen Darrell, the tourism minister, said yesterday: “Operational oversight of the Bermuda Tourism Authority lies with its board and I trust that the board will take thoughtful and appropriate steps to address the issues that have been identified.”

• Additional reporting by Gareth Finighan