The Royal Gazette this week presents the view from the trenches in the battle to win back Bermuda's share of the tourism market from its opponents.

Senior reporter Henry Adderley spoke with the people at the head of a variety of Island accommodations to gain insight into their perceptions of the Island's former top industry.

The hoteliers give their impressions of tourism past, future and present, what they feel has caused the damage to it and what they are doing to win the war.

This is the third part of a six-part series.

*** Ann Smith's family bought Oxford Guest House in Pembroke in 1983.

At that time there were five other guest properties along Woodbourne Avenue to compete with but 15 years on, her's is the only one still there.

"What does that tell you?'' she laughed.

In the process, the owner/manager of the 12-room facility has built up a loyal clientele comprised equally of visitors and business people while creating a high enough standard of accommodation to secure the Department of Tourism's Cedar Tree Award for three years in a row.

Meanwhile the Bermudiana has closed down and since been razed to the ground while the Woodbourne Guest House has been taken over by ACE Ltd. and converted to a day care centre.

And guest houses around Bermuda have slowly closed their doors or converted themselves to apartments over recent years.

Mrs. Smith said she had seen a lot of changes in the local tourism industry since opening in 1983, which she fortunately was able to take advantage of without having to spend a great deal of money on advertising.

"When I first opened in 1983, all my business came from tourists. We have 80 percent occupancy for the year -- which is very good -- and now 50 percent of my business is business-related.

"Last month we had 97 percent occupancy.

"I have a great repeat visitor base but if it was not for the business community and businessmen coming to stay here, who knows what would have happened.'' Oxford Guest House has proven attractive to the business traveller because of its location.

"It is very convenient to them,'' said Mrs. Smith. "They can walk to their offices so they don't have to wait around for transportation.'' However there are challenges when it comes to catering to the business traveller, admitted Mrs. Smith.

"If there is a problem, it is that they go home on the weekends. They check out on Friday and return on the Monday. We have to cater for that.'' And a guest property has to adapt to meet their needs.

"We have had to become more sophisticated,'' said Mrs. Smith.

While she has put in her fair share of effort -- "It has to be a hands-on business,'' she notes -- her staff have made the difference in the property achieving success.

"The reason why Oxford has been so successful,'' said Mrs. Smith, "is the staff I have. I have very good staff. I could not run it without good staff.

"I have two resident assistants who live in and with business people staying here they are on call all the time. I don't know what people do without live-in staff.

"Businessmen often need late-night assistance for phone calls and other things so you have to have someone on duty all the time to cater to them.'' It is not easy work to run a guest house, she pointed out.

"It is seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. I love it. I really enjoy it but if you have good staff your life is made much easier.'' To make sure she keeps enjoying her work, Mrs. Smith has spent a great deal of time on refurbishing the property year after year.

She praised Government for reducing the duty on items brought in for hotel refurbishment as it had offered the necessary encouragement to continue doing it.

ANN SMITH -- "When I first opened in 1983, all my business came from tourists. We have 80 percent occupancy for the year -- which is very good -- and now 50 percent of my business is business-related.''