The Fairmont Hamilton Princess has been awarded a top honour from among 56 Fairmont hotels for its innovative Bermudian Ambassador Training Programme.

The hotel's global parent company, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, announced that the 124-year-old Bermuda hotel had won the luxury hotel chain's Ideas Count award.

The Bermudian Ambassador Training Programme at The Fairmont Hamilton Princess helps new and existing colleagues become ambassadors for Bermuda, and share this knowledge with guests.

The main goal of the programme is to engender pride and unity among the property's 21-nationality colleague team and includes a specialised orientation programme to educate staff on local culture, sights and attractions.

In addition, hotel policy encourages staff to expand their knowledge of the unique history of the hotel's location.

The Fairmont Hamilton Princess also introduced new ways of thinking about its brand and performance standards to ensure colleagues offer warm and engaging guest services.

"We are very proud of the programme we created and couldn't be happier to receive the Ideas Count award," said Kellianne Smith, director of human resources for The Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

"When we implemented the programme, we had Bermuda-themed lunches and departmental competitions to provide a sense of cohesiveness and unity among our colleagues and also to explore Bermuda's rich legacy. By creating ambassadors within our hotel, we have seen a marked improvement in our employee engagement measurement, and our guest satisfaction rating has increased significantly.

"The Fairmont Hamilton Princess, by nature, is a highly service-oriented hotel and so we take the extra steps to engage our employees to maintain and even surpass our reputation. The Ideas Count programme encourages our staff to share ideas and consider possibilities by asking 'what if' and then turn their ideas into reality."

Fairmont's head office reviewed 139 submissions for the Ideas Count Award, presenting awards in four categories: guest, colleague, brand and owner. The Hamilton Princess won in the colleague category for creating an innovative idea that had a positive impact on staff members and efficiency.