Investors will be able to get a slice of the Bermuda hotel industry if a plan proposed by the potential buyer of two Island properties goes through.

Breaking his silence on the deals to buy the Sonesta and Belmont hotels, New Jersey property developer James Dwyer said his purchase of the two resorts would pave the way for half the total rooms to be sold.

Mr. Dwyer said he wanted to sell 200 rooms at Sonesta and about 150 units at Belmont to speculators who, he said, would jump at the chance of owning a small portion of Bermuda's hospitality industry. The rooms would still be available for hotel guests in the normal way, with owners getting a rate of return on the bed nights sold -- they have no residency rights on the units.

The sale of the Sonesta -- understood to be for about $30 million -- is to be completed by the end of next month. And the transfer of the Belmont -- for sale in the region of $12 million plus -- is due to be completed in September.

Yesterday, Mr. Dwyer said there would be ample investment in both properties once the purchases were completed -- and he vowed that no staff would be made redundant at Sonesta.

"We're reinforcing the most important industry in Bermuda, the hotel business,'' he said. "We have no intention of cutting anybody back. We're delighted with the Sonesta staff. I think they deserve a medal for hanging in there so many years when the property has been for sale.'' And he refuted any suggestion that either property was to be demolished to make way for a residential development.

Developer plans to sell rooms "We are not going to tear down any property,'' he said.

"You have to ensure that the tourist guest units are not depleted. We are not depleting one unit, we are adding units.'' Mr. Dwyer said the Sonesta name would stay with the South Shore hotel and his company would pay a franchise fee to use their reputation.

However, all management and ownership would be with James M. Dwyer.

He said the hotel units would be sold off overseas and locally, with investors paying monthly maintenance fees.

It would not operate like a timeshare, but owners would be able to book rooms on the same basis as regular guests, effectively paying themselves.

The property developer would not say how much the rooms would be sold for but said suites at one of his properties in Ocean City had gone for about $200,000.

And when asked whether the deal would be attractive to potential investors, he said: "It would be a very, very healthy return, as you would find on the stock market or better.'' Belmont includes around 150 rooms but has options to bring the total units to 300.

Mr. Dwyer added that Tourism Minister David Allen was supportive of his plans.