Hotel industry figures are meeting tonight to voice concerns about the future of Stonington Beach Hotel and the training of Bermudians in the hospitality sector.

The meeting has been called to try to find out what direction the hotel - which is used to train Bermudians in hospitality - will take following news from Bermuda College that the training programmes may be run by the private sector.

Jenefer Brimmer, who held senior management positions at Elbow Beach, Sonesta, and the Bermuda Department of Tourism in the US, is organising the meeting at the Leopard's Club, Hamilton, at 7 p.m. tonight.

Ms Brimmer told The Royal Gazette yesterday that many people in the hotel sector were concerned about the future of training Bermudians at Stonington Beach and were looking for the College to clear up the uncertainty.

She said the College, which runs the hotel, declined to attend the meeting because it had not reached a decision about the future of Stonington and was in a transition period following the recent appointment of Michael Orenduff as college president.

`'We want to find out what's going to happen with training for Bermudians in the hospitality industry. In the past two years there have been a lot of stories about changes at Stonington and training has not been focussed upon,'' she said.

`'My concern as a veteran in the hotel industry is that we should never allow the hotel not to provide training for Bermudians. This allows them to filter into the hospitality industry and it is important for its survival.

`'If Bermudians are not being trained, there is always the excuse that Bermudians are not available or can't do the job.

`'A lot of hoteliers have very grave concerns and they want to see how we can get answers about the future of Stonington and the future of the hospitality industry.

`'Stonington only has 64 rooms, it's on the ocean and it doesn't have a problem with occupancy. The challenge is that the money it has generated has not been spent wisely.

`'That's not the fault of Bermudians, so why should Bermudians suffer because someone hasn't managed this properly? We need to ensure that our children and our grandchildren have these facilities that were set up for them.''

Ms Brimmer dismissed a recent initiative by the Bermuda Industrial Union and Bermuda Hotel Association to set up a joint central register of unemployed Bermudians who are interested in joining the hotel industry.