Two top executives from luxury hotel group Jumeirah have paid the briefest of visits to Bermuda.

Delayed by the bad weather that hit flights from North America, Guy Crawford and Frank Van Der Post had even less time on the Island than planned, but still managed to tour the 37-acre Southlands estate earmarked for a five-star hotel resort to be run by the Dubai-based group.

One of the reasons the two executives paid a flying visit to the Island was to discuss ways to involve young Bermudians in the running of the proposed hotel. They also met with Southlands owners Brian Duperreault, Craig Christensen and Nelson Hunt. "We are already looking to see what can we bring to the Island. We are looking to see what can we do to bring young talented Bermudian men and women to come out and work in our hotels around the world and come back as the core team," explained Mr. Crawford, Jumeirah's chief operating officer.

"In Bermuda we want the core, senior people on this property to be Bermudians. So we are working along those lines. That was one of the key objectives today, how can we start that process. How can we get the young men and women out to experience what we are about?"

Mr. Crawford and Mr. Van Der Post, who is Jumeirah's senior vice-president in the Americas, only had a few hours in Bermuda. They arrived in the middle of Thursday afternoon and were intending to fly back to the States last night.

Giving a brief press conference in front of the Southlands manor house, Mr. Crawford said he could not give an answer as to how many Bermudians would ultimately be employed at the proposed hotel resort.

But he said: "Our idea is to take a core group of young Bermudians and expose them to what we believe in. We have a clear culture, we believe in staying different, and we have hallmarks, and if we can infuse that energy and get Bermudians to get that vibe from us we know they will absorb it and bring it back here.

"Our intention is to make the core management of the hotel Bermudians. If we can get the core senior team to be Bermudians we will get that buy-in and the customer experience will be better."

The hotel scheme is currently being reviewed by planning chiefs. Two special development orders are being sought in order to short cut the process and allow development zoning restrictions on the site to be overcome.

The proposed Jumeirah Southlands resort would feature two main hotel complexes, one on south shore and one to the north of South Road. Fractional units will also be scattered around the fringes of the property. A land bridge would be constructed to give a continuous flow to the hotel resort grounds. This would be achieved by sending South Road through a tunnel below. The quarry gardens in the woodland hinterland will be restored and made accessible to the public.

However, there has been an expression of concern in view of tight security to access the grounds of other hotels operated by Jumeirah. Mr. Crawford said: "Security is part of life and we deal with that around the world, Shanghai, London and New York. A resort must have a feeling of entity and must feel part of a community, particularly somewhere like here. You have to let communities come in and be part of it. I'm sure our owners will make that happen. We feel very strongly that we want this resort to be part of a community."

Jumeirah's Mr. Crawford previously spent four years living and working in Bermuda for the Forte Hotel Group and his daughter was also born on the Island. As to the progress of the hotel resort planning application, which attracted more than 100 letters of opposition when submitted at the end of 2006, Mr Christensen said he had no word.