Unionised room attendants at the Hamilton Princess and Beach Club have been subjected to reduced hours, despite the hotel recording its highest occupancy figures this May in its history, the Bermuda Industrial Union has said.

However, hotel management responded that the resort had adhered to its agreements with the union, and called for the BIU to meet with them over their concerns going forward.

“While it’s a good thing that the hotel is doing well, I don’t think Bermudians should be lured into a false sense of security,” BIU president Chris Furbert said this morning.

Under their Collective Bargaining Agreement, members should not be on layoff if occupancy stands at 75 per cent and above, the union head added.

No numbers could be given for the staff affected, with Mr Furbert saying the figure fluctuated.

The BIU was responding to an announcement from the Hamilton Princess on Saturday that, due to the America’s Cup, May had topped its record — and this month promised to be its “best ever”, according to Allan Federer, the hotel’s general manager.

While food and beverage figures are doing “extremely well”, Mr Furbert said that the union “could not allow this statement to stand by itself when our room attendants have had some layoffs during this time”.

“We gave the hotel some advice — if you’re going to produce something like this, make sure that you cover all your bases.”

Under the union’s terms, any hours reduced below the agreed threshold constitutes a layoff.

Ordinarily, shop stewards for the union are entitled access to the hotel’s occupancy figures. While Mr Furbert could not share guest numbers, he also said that the format for the figures had recently been changed.

Mr Federer responded: “We have just celebrated our best month in the history of our hotel and are looking at an even better June. As a result, we have paid more than $200,000 in overtime to our employees.

“We have made no changes to our reporting format in any way, shape or form and we have respected the Collective Bargaining Agreement to the letter. We would encourage the BIU to schedule a meeting with our management to discuss any concerns they may have in the future.”

• This article has been updated to include the reply from the Hamilton Princess and Beach Club