the Southampton Princess tour desk has kept him from returning to Bermuda's largest hotel.

And if other hotels on the Island ran their desks the same way, "I would have a problem returning to Bermuda,'' Mr. Rhoads told The Royal Gazette .

Active in the reinsurance business, Mr. Rhoads was staying at the Southampton Princess last August and had eight business couples with him. "I do two or three trips a year to Bermuda of that nature,'' he said.

When he decided to take the group on a snorkelling trip, friends recommended he book Pitman's Boat Tours in Somerset. But when he went to the hotel tour desk, the woman at the counter had other ideas.

"They said: `No, you really don't want to do that','' he said. " `You want to use (Mr. Michael Hayward's) boat.'' Mr. Rhoads asked the woman to explain the difference. "They didn't slam (Mr.

Joffre Pitman's boat) hard, but they said it was an older boat -- it wasn't as modern,'' he said.

"I said it didn't sound like there was much difference. I said I'd like to use Joffre's boat. Go book it.

"She pretty much said, `Go book it yourself'.'' The tour desk at the Southampton Princess is operated under contract by tour boat operator Bermuda Island Cruises Ltd. So are the desks at the Hamilton Princess, Elbow Beach, Grotto Bay, Marriott's Castle Harbour, and Sonesta Beach Hotel.

BIC does not sell snorkelling trips, but BIC chairman Mr. Donald Morris told The Royal Gazette that Mr. Hayward pays BIC a monthly fee to answer his telephone and book his snorkelling trips.

Confused, Mr. Rhoads said he asked what kind of a desk the woman at Southampton Princess was running.

"I expected the hotel would have an objective concierge desk that would do what the customer wanted,'' he said.

When he insisted on booking Pitman's, "she kept telling me there wasn't availability,'' and he was eventually persuaded to book the other boat. But when he went back to his room, called Mr. Pitman, and found there was space on the boat, "I really felt like I'd been lied to and deceived,'' he said.

He booked his guests on Mr. Pitman's boat and returned to the desk to demand refunds for his vouchers. "She really got snitty with me,'' he said. "I'd already tipped her ten bucks.

"I had to threaten her to make a big stink with the Southampton Princess in order to get my vouchers refunded.

"I think it reflected very poorly on the Southampton Princess that they didn't have their own concierge desk,'' Mr. Rhoads said. "I probably wouldn't go back to the Southampton Princess because of that.'' Although Mr. Rhoads is visiting Bermuda three times in the next three months, "I'm not bringing this group back,'' he said. "Explaining to them what an awkward situation this was was embarrassing.'' And, "It was uncomfortable for them,'' he said.

If he found the same situation existed at other hotels, "I would have a problem returning to Bermuda,'' Mr. Rhoads said. I would say to myself -- everything is getting fixed here. It's not a free market community.'' Asked about the incident, Mr. Morris said both Mr. Hayward and Mr. Pitman have "fine boats,'' and the woman at the desk would have received the same commission, regardless of which boat she booked.

"I'm not saying it didn't happen,'' Mr. Morris said. "I want to know why.''