another week, the hotel's development chief said last night.

Mr. John Jefferis said the South Shore hotel would not reach 70 percent occupancy -- the figure at which union strike action will be called -- during the seven remaining days of March.

But he would not be drawn on the hotel's business levels in April and beyond.

On Friday, the Bermuda Industrial Union said its workers would launch a three-day strike at the hotel when Elbow room occupancies reached 70 percent.

The union's notice came after it organised a petition in which workers demanded union representation at the hotel. The union has declined to say how many of Elbow's 275 workers signed.

News of the possible strike at Elbow Beach has not spread to North American travel agents, a Bermuda Tourism official in New York said yesterday.

"We have not received any phone calls that I'm aware of,'' the official said.

"There does not seem to be any concern among travel agents.'' Since there has been no disruption of service at Elbow Beach, Tourism officials are prepared to handle queries from agents but are not actively sending out information, he said. That would be "counter-productive.'' If agents did call, they would be told that while there is a disagreement between hotel management and the BIU, there has been no disruption in services at the hotel, he added.

Yesterday, Mr. Jefferis said the hotel's decision to break ties with the union was aimed at forging a new relationship with workers.

He said the union's "bully boy'' counter move would diminish worker opportunities, particularly given the hotel's profit-sharing plan.

Strike action -- even if it is a "token'' effort as the BIU has said -- will "clearly reduce that profit'' and leave less for the workers to share.

Mr. Jefferis said the first profit-sharing cheques were scheduled for July 1, three months after the new worker-management arrangement was implemented.