A LOT has changed at the Elbow Beach Hotel in the past year.

The place has a new look, new owners and a new style of management -- that of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, the hotel's new management company. But one thing that has largely remained the same at Elbow Beach is the staff -- a fact of which new general manager Mr. Tim Russell is acutely aware.

"I have never worked in a hotel with employees with the length of service that we have here,'' he said. "Some of the staff have been here 20, 30 and even 40 years.'' Mr. Russell, whose most recent post before coming to Elbow was as regional manager for the Canadian Pacific/Doubletree hotel group in Atlanta, was full of compliments for the staff and former manager Mr. John Jefferis, who he said did a sterling job under difficult circumstances.

"The hotel needed renovating, and I applaud John Jefferis and the staff for keeping it running at 75 percent occupancy. John should take a lot of credit for that -- they didn't have the advantage of a big company with regional sales offices. The property was getting tired, and they did a good job.'' But he pointed out that a change of managers would obviously involve some changes in management styles, and some adjustments on the part of hotel workers. While "99.9 percent'' of the staff at Elbow were excited at the prospect, Wyndham wanted to make sure to avoid change for the sake of change, altering things that already worked well for the hotel.

"A lot of the employees have been here a long time, and they certainly know how to run a hotel better than I do. And the hotel already has a lot of good policies and procedures at work here. We've got to be careful we don't lose the feeling that was here -- the traditions and friendliness that have made Elbow Beach a little different from other Bermuda hotels.'' Wyndham's job, he said, was to take that foundation and make changes where they were necessary to keep the hotel running well and to provide guests with the best service possible.

"We are trying to establish a lot of procedures and policies, and how an employee should go through step one, step two and step three to make sure guests get proper service. When you don't set up the proper mechanisms and procedures, it is frustrating for the employee. When there is a problem, it's almost never an employee problem -- it stems from management and training.

"We have a real campaign for training, to make sure the employees know exactly what is expected of them by us and the guests. As managers, we have an obligation to the employees to make sure they have all the tools and opportunities to do their job adequately.'' It is quickly obvious that Wyndham Hotels and Resorts operates a little differently than most companies. They stress the need for teamwork if the hotel is to run smoothly, and try to make every employee aware that what he or she does is an important part of everything that goes on in the hotel. One of the ways they have shown their appreciation to the employees is by investing a great deal of money into improving the staff cafeteria and dormitories.

"If you want to have happy guests, you have to have happy employees. We have a lot of good, bright people here, but they were missing some of the systems and operational mechanics you need to run the business. Our ultimate goal is to promote within the company, and we will fight as much as possible going out of the hotel to find new people. We want to help our people along in their careers.'' An Elbow Beach holiday must be of the highest quality possible, he said.

"In Bermuda, the guests come from a little higher socio-economic level than say, those going to Orlando, Florida; they are more demanding because of the rates we charge, so we have to be a little sharper. The key is training, and making sure the employee know what is expected of him or her. If we don't do that training, we haven't done service to our guest and we certainly haven't done service to the employee.'' A vital part of the Wyndham philosophy, he said, was to allow visitors to tell them how to do things better.

"We try and listen in a lot of different ways to the guests. We give a comment card to each one, and we honestly want them to let us know what is wrong and what is right.

"We are in the business of providing hospitality to guests. Some places have rules that say `each room has three towels'. At a Wyndham Hotel, if a guest wants five extra towels, they get five extra towels -- whatever the guest wants, the guest gets.'' LAP OF LUXURY -- A penthouse suite overlooks the hotel's newly-manicured grounds and world-class beach. All 301 of the hotel's rooms were given a new look.

NEW GENERAL manager Mr. Tim Russell -- aiming to provide the best service possible to Elobw Beach guests.