With occupancy rates dropping Island-wide, the hours of Bermuda?s hotel workers will be slashed too.

This comes from Michael Winfield, the president of the Bermuda Hotel Association. As reported yesterday, September?s projected occupancy rates for the BHA?s seven members has fallen to 50 percent, compared to 52 percent last September.

And with numbers declining, hotel workers can expect their work hours to be reduced.

?Under the relationships between the BIU and the hotels, if the BHA?s occupancy rates are over 70 percent a hotel has to be fully staffed, and under 70 percent you staff according to need,? Mr. Winfield said.

Changing hats, Mr. Winfield then spoke for his employees at the Cambridge Beaches where he is general manager of the Cambridge Beaches, Mr. Winfield said that his hotel workers will see a drop in hours.

?Our occupancy rates have been under 70 percent for the month of September and so we have issued lay off notices. Which just means workers are informed that hours may be reduced,? he said.

Mr. Winfield said that he every member of the BHA will be forced to has reduce workers? hours. In accordance with the BHA?s contract with the BIU I have advised my employees that we are employing less workers.

?You will find a vast majority of hotels are doing this. The point is that the health of hotels have a direct impact on the employees in terms of the number of hours that they work any time the BHA?s collective occupancy drops below 70 percent,? he said.

A spokesperson at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort echoed Mr. Winfield yesterday.

?The occupancy rates are down over last year,? the spokesperson said.

?And we have had more layoffs this year then we did last year.?

Not willing to specify the difference in job numbers, the hotel?s spokesman said that job cuts fluctuate on a day-to-day basis, based on the daily occupancy rate.

When asked the percentage of rooms filled, the spokesman said that Grotto Bay does not release such figures.

However, there was some optimism at Elbow Beach Hotel where spokesperson, Erica Martin,said that the hotel did not expect to see a dip in it?s staff numbers.

?We are at quite high occupancy rates right now, and we expect to continue that into October.?

She said that the hotel did not expect to see a cut in its year round staffing.

?We hire seasonal workers during the summer, and most of them have left or are getting ready to leave. But that is quite normal,? she said, adding that with seasonal workers they can reach 100 percent staffing rates in the peak seasons, without threatening the jobs of full time staff in the winter months.

?As a hotel if occupancy falls below 70 percent we could lay off staff, and obviously that is something we do not like to do,? she said.

?But right now we are on pace, and we are doing better than last year. We are positive right now,? she said. ?We are certainly not at 80 or 90 percent, but we are positive for the coming months.?

Neither the Fairmont Southampton Resort or the Fairmont Hamilton Princess were able to comment on their occupancy rates or if there has been an increase in layoffs.