The price tag for building a hotel room, or a ‘key’, in Bermuda is $1 million — and that compares to $400,000 in other destination countries.Those people who attended a town hall meeting at Francis Patton Primary School, spotlighting the four Hamilton Parish PLP candidates, heard these construction costs were making it difficult to encourage investors to build hotels in Bermuda.An audience that candidate Wayne Furbert estimated to be about 100 people came to hear their questions answered by candidates Leroy Bean running in constituency four St George's South, Derrick Burgess in constituency five Hamilton East, Wayne Furbert in constituency six Hamilton West, and Diallo Rabain in constituency seven Hamilton South.One attendee introduced the subject by asking the candidates: “Will we have foreigners when we’re building hotels?”Minister of Tourism Mr Furbert said: “If all these developers come to Bermuda at the same time, there could be some challenges. We have foreign workers at the hospital project (on Point Finger Road) and at Waterloo House,” he said.“It costs $1 million a ‘key’ in Bermuda — that does not work for investors to give a return,” he said. “It is roughly $400,000 else where — the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.” He said investors will compare an investment in Bermuda with another destination where it is cheaper to build.The Ministry of Tourism has been working with experts in the hospitality development field such as architectural firm OBM International to try and get ‘key’ costs down, he revealed. “The template produced in the Ministry would look like, for a four or five star hotel, about $790,000. We have put in place legislation — the Hotel Concessions Act, for example, to encourage investors.”On the question of foreign workers being brought in to build future hotel projects, he said: “There is a possibility — we don’t want it — but, if a St Regis and another hotel starts (building) at one time, that is tremendous amount for the workforce. So, most likely, yes.” He said it would take 600 workers to build a hotel and that would ultimately employ 800 people in the industry.He said: “We have been working with the union and I think we have a formula, to make sure Bermudians are taken care of — if it happens right.”“A lot of these things are coming,” he said. “Our developers have to feel comfortable with the numbers. We see it happening. I would love to see some hotels on the ground before December 17. We would take all 36 seats!” he said.Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess added: “The Bahamas has had the same problem — when the Chinese go in, if they use Chinese dollars, they want Chinese workers.“We don’t have enough skilled people to build two or three hotels at the same time.”Town hall questioners asked whether the work should be spread out. Mr Burgess responded: “If we have a hotel come in and give you some money, you can’t tell them to wait for five years. It’s not easy — our competition are giving developers land and everything on earth to get them to come in.”