management said the daylong partial work stoppage did "immeasurable damage'' to Bermuda.

"This strike equals layoffs,'' said Mr. David Boyd, managing director of Sonesta Beach Hotel.

"It was a very damaging day for Bermuda, not so much in the level of service that we provided for our guests, but for the message we sent back to the States over the Memorial Day weekend.

"This is going to cost us an immeasurable amount of business,'' he said. "I would vouch to say that over the next month to six weeks, we're going to see very reduced levels of...new bookings, if this doesn't stop immediately.'' Mr. Boyd said "a good percentage'' of his employees turned up for work despite a picket line in front of the 403-room South Shore hotel. And the guests were looked after, he said. It is understood 80 percent of the staff appeared for work.

Despite that, 1,000 visitors would leave the Sonesta with unhappy memories, he said. Some were leaving early, and there were a few cancellations.

"I don't care if it's only ten people who don't come in,'' he said. "It's the whole uncertainty, and questions about whether they will be able to get a taxi. It just puts this whole sense of disruption in the guests.'' Marriott general manager Mr. Roger Borsink said his 402-room hotel was "running as normal,'' but addded: "Hopefully, this will be the only day of the strike.'' In all, the Bermuda Industrial Union set up picket lines at about 12 hotels early yesterday as a long-simmering dispute over the workers' share of gratuities boiled over. Pickets were up early in the morning and placard-carrying workers remained until about 5.30 p.m. How many workers took part was difficult to estimate, but it was nowhere near 3,000 -- the reported membership of the BIU's hotel division. Housekeeping staff were out in the largest numbers, but fewer than a dozen workers picketed most hotels.

One resident manager whose hotel was picketed said 27 workers showed up as usual, nine did not, and another nine had earlier arranged to have the day off.

In New York, Department of Tourism director of sales for North America Mr.

Paul Zar had his fingers crossed in mid-afternoon, saying neither travel agents nor the American media had apparently heard about the strike.

"We seem to be sheltered from the storm,'' he said.

But almost as he spoke, Associated Press was sending a story about Bermuda to newspapers around the world. Union president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP was quoted as saying the disruptive strike would last "for weeks, if necessary.'' And CNN last night wrongly reported that 3,000 Bermuda hotel workers had walked off the job.

Management worked overtime yesterday and some hotel workers did the jobs of others on top of their own. "Even the guy who cuts the hedges was in clearing the tables,'' said Ms Joanne Yurkanin, an American guest at the Harmony Club.

Guests said their rooms were made up and hotel services were normal -- or better than normal. The major inconvenience was taxis that would not cross picket lines.

Public Transportation Board buses would not cross the line to go up the long driveway at Grotto Bay Hotel, up which visitors were seen hauling their luggage on foot.

And meals were disrupted. A group of 42 was among those who had their reservations cancelled when the Waterlot Inn at Southampton Princess was closed due to the strike. At the same hotel, the restaurant Windows was open, but only serving a buffet.

Similarly, Harley's was closed at the Hamilton Princess, while the Colony Pub had only a buffet. Its Tiara Room was serving a la carte. At Elbow Beach, Spazzizi's was closed, while Ondine's offered only a buffet. Cafe Lido, managed separately from the hotel, was busy operating as normal.

Both the Windsor Restaurant and Mikado's Japanese Steak House were open for dinner at the Marriott, while the dining room at Grotto Bay was only serving a buffet.

But that was about all. Other than some jeering when taxis or hotel workers crossed picket lines, Police reported no trouble yesterday. The picket lines were "very quiet'', a Police spokesman said.

Despite appeals by strikers to respect their lines, many taxi drivers were crossing all day.

"I think they have a right to strike,'' a driver at the Civil Air Terminal said. "But I have no problem crossing the lines. I've done it twice this morning.'' At Sonesta, music and gaiety marked the lines. Waving placards with messages like, "We Do Not Want To Inconvenience Our Visitors But Our Rights Have Been Violated,'' strikers blocked incoming traffic by forming a conga line.

At one point, a van that was delayed for several minutes tried to force its way through.

At the Southampton Princess, chambermaid Mrs. Marion Caines was picketing defiantly. "I've been working (here) since it opened and it was beautiful,'' she said. "Now we are working like slaves, hard at work every day.

"The money we used to make we don't make anymore. It is hard to survive.'' Ms Debbie Fox, a union official at Grotto Bay, said visitors were supportive.

"They seem aware of what is going on,'' she said. "They are pretty shocked that money that they give for service is not going to the workers.'' While some guests reportedly marched in picket lines, others were clearly unhappy.

"I think it's unnecessary with today's economy,'' said Mrs. Sherry Stayer of Kingston, Ontario. "I don't see a lot of people starving in Bermuda,'' and "this Island depends on tourism''.

Visitor Mr. Pat Linder said the Southampton Princess was better off without the workers because the service was terrible. "Everything is overpriced and the service was bad,'' he said. "The workers know tips are included so why go out of their way to make someone happy?'' "The strike is an inconvenience when you're on holiday,'' said visitor Mr.

Mel Schreiber. "We spent a lot of money to come here and our enjoyment has to be curtailed by this.'' Others expressed sympathy with the strikers and said hotels should not receive even a portion of the tips. "That's what gratuities are for,'' Belmont Hotel guest Mr. Scott Reefe said. "We are already paying the hotel.

The tips are to help the people who are helping you.'' Mr. Doug West of Montgomery, Illinois, said the hotel strike looked nothing like what he was used to near Chicago. "They've got some really heated strikes there,'' where pickets stood around fires lit inside oil barrels, Mr.

West said. "Here, the guy at the cycle livery said they go home at five or six at night.'' "And they're so polite,'' added his wife, Mrs. Ann West.