A majority of hotels contacted by the Royal Gazette yesterday are predicting this season will be even worse than last year's all-time low, although the two Fairmont properties are expecting to see an improvement.

The Island's biggest hotel, the Southampton Princess, is currently sold out, and the South Shore resort and its sister property the Hamilton Princess are confident they have bucked the downward spiral of last year.

But most other hotels surveyed were downbeat yesterday believing they will see fewer visitors than 2001, when arrival numbers to Bermuda slumped by 21 percent to 430,064.

Southampton Princess General Manager Allan Trew said the refurbished hotel should see 85 percent occupancy for June compared to 80 percent in 2001.

July will probably be 90 percent compared to 86 percent, and first six months are up on last year.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed that the last quarter holds up. It's still a bit soft, but we are rather optimistic that we will see an improvement this year on last," he said yesterday.

"We've had good convention business (held over from September 11) but also the good work done by our sales team has contributed to the increase in business."

And Hamilton Princess director of operations Scott Hoadley, was also in upbeat mood, saying the hotel is looking at 70 percent occupancy for this June compared to 56 percent last year and it should finish the year better than 2001.

"June is looking to come along as a good month, with the Newport to Bermuda race being very positive for us. We're a little less than the budget, but we are not unhappy with the performance," he said.

"We've been very pleased with the results for the first six months and barring unforeseen circumstances, for this hotel, we believe we are looking at a better year than last year."

But elsewhere on the Island, most hoteliers who spoke to The Royal Gazette were in a gloomier mood, expecting to see fewer visitors than last year.

Official first quarter visitor arrival figures released by Government in May provided a glimmer of hope with numbers up 2.9 percent for the first three months of 2002 at 41,324.

However, out with the two Fairmont properties, none of the hotels said they were confident of an improvement overall this year. Elbow Beach communications director Kendaree Burgess-Fairn, said the hotel is 90 percent full in June on weekends and around 80 percent during the week.

"We are slightly behind last year, but slightly ahead of our projections for this year," she said. "I don't think this year will be better than last year. Last year was quite a good year for us (due to Fairmont renovations), and how this shapes up is really hard to tell, especially in the next six months."

Pink Beach Club General Manager Michael Williams said: "We're full at the moment and had a reasonably good June, and we're also full for July 4.

"The first part of June has been okay bit its too early to tell for July because of the short booking patterns we now have. It's been soft for the early part of the year and it has been picking up."

When asked if this year will be better than 2001, he said: "No, absolutely not."

When asked why, he said: "You'll have to ask the Hotel Association."

The Reefs is on schedule to finish slightly behind last year, following a slow start to the year, said owner David Dodwell.

The South Shore property is looking at occupancy levels of mid-90 percent for June, the same as last year.

"June is looking very strong and we are exactly where we were last year. It was a slow start to the year for us and everyone else. Because of the slower start to the year, all things being equal, we will be slightly behind this year," he said.

And Ariel Sands, which is currently 80 percent occupied, ten percent down on June 2001, is likely to be ten percent down on last year, according to General Manager John O'Brien.

"I believe the air fares just coming down, by about $100 a ticket from the US, may help things, but they have just been too high for too long a period. And I don't believe people are travelling as much as they say they are."

The Harmony Club has 70 percent occupancy for June, down from 80 percent last year, and earlier months are also trailing behind, said club president Billy Griffith, who is also president of Bermuda Hotel Association.

"We're still not as good as last year. Occupancy levels are gradually improving, but we've not hit the highs of last year's May, June and July. It's still steady, not as quick as we wanted to be, but we are still hanging in there," he said.

Grotto Bay Beach Resort general manager JP Martens said the hotel was full for June and should be the same for July and August. "We are the about the same as last year, so considering what's happened, we can't complain."