While politicians prefer not to dwell on the decline of the tourism industry in Bermuda, the general manager of the Fairmont Hamilton Princess is not one to stick his head in the sand.

Paul Tourmay makes no bones about it: "Competition in tourism is brutal at the moment."

The Fairmont group's response has been impressive, by anyone's standards.

"We're taking full advantage of the concession act," says Mr. Tourmay. That's putting it mildly. The Hamilton hotel has invested a massive $23 million in renovations over the past two years, with more to come. Stage one, completed in 2001, renovated 95 rooms and suites and the "Gold" business lounge.

Stage two, completed in May 2002, saw the complete refurbishment of the lobby, the heritage lounge and the bar.

Renovation of Harley's restaurant was also completed in summer 2002. Stage three, is presently underway with 88 rooms in the gazebo wing project being completely renovated.

They will be completed in spring 2003. Stage four, the pool wing project, commences in the late spring and will renovate 33 one bedroom suites completing in the summer. The Fairmont's aim is to restore the Princess to its "luxurious past". To accomplish this they brought in "the big guns".

Mr. Tourmay arrived on the Island in 2001. He was formerly general manager of The Plaza in New York, one of several landmark properties within the Fairmont group.

They're known for having wonderful historic hotels, says Mr. Tourmay.

Whereas the Fairmont Southampton decided to drop the "Princess" aspect of their name last year, Mr. Tourmay says there was no question of his hotel losing the royal name: "It's always been the Princess, it was the original Princess... Princess cruise ships used to come here."

The renovations have also aimed to capitalise on the hotel's heritage, blending a sense of history with modern convenience.

They seem to have struck the right balance; the impression entering the lobby is of "old world" elegance, and when a guest reaches their room there are internet facilities.

But looks aren't everything. "Hotels are wonderful places," says Mr. Tourmay, "you can have the marble and the antiques.... but if you don't get the level of personal attention and service, then all of these things fade from memory very quickly."

In Mr. Tourmay's guests are typically sophisticated business travellers. "The business sector is what we live for," he says, explaining that corporate groups are not weather dependant and provide a steady year-round income.

These kind of guests have high expectations and he admits that they had to raise the bar in terms of service.

The standards apply to all levels of staff. For example, there is a "blue print" for how to set up desks in the rooms. They devised the ideal position of the pens, the note pads, the lamps and the telephone and took a picture which goes in to the training manual for housekeeping.

The line staff have embraced the new standards, says Mr. Tourmay: "The room attendant, the waiters, the people who have put their heart and soul in this building have really risen to the occasion."

In terms of senior staff, he likes them to have had international experience because working in a high quality establishment tends to rub off.

Take his food and beverage director, Peter Finnegan, for example. "Peter has worked in some of the best hotels in London - He knows what good looks like," says Mr. Tourmay.

That's what it's all about, he goes on, "You need to know what good looks like, what it tastes like, what it feels like."

Mr. Tourmay regularly conducts "quality walks" around the hotel. He is on the look out for things like flowers that need to be changed and light bulbs that need to be replaced.

Asked what it takes to be a good hotel manager, he says "multi tasking is an absolute requirement. You have to be adept at dealing with your ceo-type customer, but you also have to be able to deal with your line staff."

Of course, it's not about being able to do all the individual roles: "I don't know how to make a Bernaise sauce and I don't make the best hospital corners, but I do make a good bed."he laughs.

Highly important these days, says Mr. Tourmay, is to understand the revenue and distribution side of the business. If you don't get the custom through the door, all the other things are a wasted exercise.

"You have to be totally tuned in to what the distribution channels are." That includes being up to date with the latest developments in web-site marketing of hotels. There is a huge growth in sales via the Internet he says.

'In today's market, we have more tech -savvy, baby boomer clientele."

The more traditional approach involves attending trade fairs and using wholesalers, a middle man who sells flights and hotel rooms to various travel agents.

Mr. Tourmay says that they recently approached their wholesaling partners to ask: "How are we doing? The response was that there need to be better flights deals, especially since the Caribbean is offering discounts even during their high season.

In the face of this, the Bermuda hotels have tried to work together. Mr. Tourmay is chairman of the marketing committee of the Bermuda Hotels Association and has been working with people like Michael Winfield of Cambridge Beaches to negotiate promotions with the airlines and the government.

Their efforts last year have resulted in the "Fly free to Bermuda campaign".

For a limited period, Delta is offering free flights from the US to Bermuda for holiday makers who spend more than four nights at a participating hotel.

As for levels of co-operation with sister property, Fairmont Southampton, Mr. Tourmay says: "We work together, but there's a friendly competition. If they do something really great, we want to do it too."