SINGAPORE – Luxury hotel Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore has been crowned Singapore’s best customer service provider, dethroning Shangri-La, a five-star hotel near Orchard Road, which topped the list in the last two years.

Hotel brands occupied half of the top 10 spots in the 2024/2025 edition of Singapore’s Best Customer Service survey, but the 2025 list features a broader mix of industries, including online florists, wedding planners, eyewear retailers and furniture stores.

A Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore spokeswoman said the property’s service philosophy is inspired by “gracious Thai hospitality”, where a combination of warmth, attentiveness and respect makes every guest feel truly cared for.

“What sets us apart is our ability to create a personalised, resort-like experience in Singapore, ensuring every interaction feels sincere, intuitive and memorable,” she said.

Beyond receiving standardised technical training, the hotel’s staff attend workshops on anticipating unspoken needs, cross-cultural awareness and mindfulness.

Guests receive the Thai “wai”, a traditional greeting where palms are pressed together in a prayer-like manner.

“It is about creating little moments of delight that go beyond the expected, whether that’s remembering a returning guest’s favourite drink or recommending experiences to suit a family with young children,” the spokeswoman said.

The fourth edition of the survey, conducted by The Straits Times and global data company Statista in March and April, identified Singapore’s best customer service retailers and service providers from among 1,800 companies across 102 categories.

More than 10,000 respondents rated brands that provide customer experiences in traditional retail, online and services segments.

The survey results were released on Aug 20.

Online flower retailers bloomed in the top 10 spots, with Ask a French – Flowers placing second, Fav Florist clinching sixth place and BloomBack ranking seventh.

Statista analyst Inez Angelixa said that having three online retailers in the top 10 in 2025 marks a significant shift, as the previous three editions featured only bricks-and-mortar establishments.

“This indicates a growing strength and recognition for online retail in delivering high-quality customer experiences,” she said.

Mrs Aude Giraud, owner of Ask a French – Flowers, said she made a conscious decision to operate from her home studio at East Coast and not have a physical store.

“It gives me more freedom. I don’t have to pay rent or hire employees,” said the Singapore permanent resident who moved here from Paris in 2015.

Her business fills a niche for European freestyle arrangements rather than providing typical structured bouquets.

She told The Straits Times that she has never repeated a bouquet style in the last 10 years. Each creation is unique.

“My customers can’t see what bouquet they will get until it is delivered. That’s why it’s called a surprise bouquet… If you look at the website, you cannot choose a bouquet. You just choose the size,” she said, adding that customers can also choose between fresh and dried flowers, and if they prefer a vase.

When asked about her approach to customer service, Mrs Giraud said communication and problem-solving are key, adding that she ensures all queries are answered promptly.

“It’s a very soulful business. Sending flowers is very intimate, it’s not just decorative. It’s a message that people want to send, be it condolences, love or congratulations, so they need to trust the person that’s behind it,” she said.

Ms Hazel Kweh, who founded BloomBack – an online retailer for preserved flowers – with her husband in 2017, said service excellence was something she learnt during the five years she worked with Singapore Airlines.

“As SQ cabin crew, I was used to providing that level of service – it was my lifestyle already. So naturally, when I founded this company, I wanted to similarly ‘walk the talk’,” she said.

Ms Kweh added that being in this business requires understanding that flower gifting is usually a last-minute affair, and she takes pride in how promptly her company responds to requests.

“We need to make our customers feel understood, we are there for them on important occasions… So we do express and same-day delivery because gifting is always very last minute. We need to understand our customers’ pain points and then translate that into words and actions,” she said.

Associate Professor Joicey Wei, from the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ School of Business, said online flower retailers have an advantage over hotels due to how customers form and measure their expectations.

“Flowers are usually bought as gifts, not for one’s own consumption. Plus, as a once-off transaction, as long as they are delivered to the right person, at the right time, with a touch of personalisation, it is very easy to exceed your previously formed expectations,” she said, adding that flowers carry strong emotional value.

Hotel experiences, however, involve multiple touchpoints from check-in to room service and even dining. Thus, any small lapse can lower the overall experience, Prof Wei added.

“For big-brand hotels, customers already have very high expectations that they will get excellent levels of service. It’s very hard to surprise them,” she said, adding that this may explain why newer hotels such as Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore sometimes rank higher than longstanding luxury brands like Shangri-La.

Statista’s Ms Angelixa said luxury hotels dropping in the rankings was not due to a decline in their performance, as they maintained a similar likelihood of recommendation as in 2024.

“However, competitors improved their scores, with other industries placing greater emphasis on customer service,” she said, adding that this heightened competition in the premium segment made it more challenging for luxury hotels to remain among the top 10 brands.

Only two hotels made the cut in 2025. While newcomer Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore clinched the top spot, returning entrant Marina Bay Sands placed 10th on the list, down from third place in 2024.

Other new faces in 2025 include eyewear retailer Paris Miki in third place, perfume and cosmetics brand Jo Malone in fourth, wedding planner Rosette Designs and Co in fifth, furniture retailer Nitori in eighth, and moving company Assalaamualaikum Enterprise, which ranked ninth.

Ms Felicia Wee, marketing course chair at Temasek Polytechnic, said online retailers are likely to feature more in future rankings as companies invest in user-friendly platforms to improve customer experience.

“It’s the convenience of it all, and the speed with which you can purchase something,” she said, adding that these features can sometimes outshine in-store service. 

But success also depends on seamless online and offline strategies, such as after-sales services and a willingness to invest in data-driven insights to understand and act on consumer feedback.

Ms Wee said: “If they are fully online companies, they must take note of customer feedback. That’s critical to how they would function as an online business, about how they’ve been serving their customers online.”

New categories introduced in the ranking in 2025 were language e-learning platforms, maid agencies, as well as wedding planning and entertainment.

According to Statista, five categories saw their average score improve: moving services, eyewear retailers, men’s apparel (online), dry cleaning services, and pharmacies and drug stores.

Ms Angelixa said the improvement was mainly due to better accessibility.

“In Singapore, 76 per cent of people own a smartphone, enabling consumers to access product information any time via search engines and other online channels,” she said.

She added that with widespread internet use, strong digital infrastructure and government support, brands are now more accessible round the clock.

While this benefits all categories in the survey, these five saw the most notable improvement, compared with 2024.

The ranking for Singapore’s Best Customer Service 2025/2026 was based on the results of an anonymous online survey commissioned by The Straits Times in partnership with Statista.

The survey covered more than 1,800 retailers and service providers in 102 categories, providing results for a broad spectrum of customer experiences in traditional retail, online and services segments.

More than 10,000 respondents took part in the survey, and evaluations from the 2024/2025 edition were also considered with a smaller weightage, resulting in over 100,0000 evaluations of customer service being analysed.

Those who were polled comprised customers in Singapore who had made purchases, used services or gathered information about products or services in the past three years.

For each category, the most relevant brands were included in the scope of the survey according to reputation, turnover or market share.

Only companies that offer services in Singapore were taken into account.

The final ranking was based on how likely customers would recommend a company to others. This made up 50 per cent of the total score.

The other half of the final score was based on five criteria, with respondents giving ratings on a scale of zero (worst) to 10 (best).

The criteria were:

The top three or top five brands – based on category size – receiving the highest scores in each category were awarded the Singapore’s Best Customer Service 2025/2026 title.

Luxury hotel brands try to differentiate themselves in all kinds of ways. One (arguably) minor way they do so is by partnering with other luxury brands on their toiletry and skincare lines. While I’m not suggesting that you should pick a hotel brand because of the toiletries that they offer, I think I’m not alone in preferring some brands to others.

In this post, I’d like to share my favorite hotel toiletry brands, and then I’m curious to hear what brands OMAAT readers prefer. To be clear, my rankings are based purely on my perception of products and brands, from the packaging, to the scent, to how it feels using them, to memories I associate with them. I’m not claiming any authority with my opinion, so please don’t ask me to defend my preferences!

Still, I’m sure I’m not alone in getting more excited about some toiletry brands than others. I think it’s also interesting to reflect on how two major hotel brands have switched their toiletries brands in the past couple of years.

With that out of the way, below are some of my favorite hotel toiletry brands (let me also emphasize that not every single property belonging to these groups has the brand standard toiletries).

Le Labo at EDITION & Park Hyatt

Le Labo generally supplies toiletries for EDITION and Park Hyatt hotels, as well as select Fairmont properties, and it’s probably my single favorite toiletry brand. I love how there are different scents, and how they’re often customized for individual hotels (with the branding on the bottles even reflecting that). I enjoy the scents, and also appreciate that they seem to be fairly mild.

Diptyque at Ritz-Carlton

Within the past few years, Ritz-Carlton has started partnering with Diptyque on toiletries. What an absolutely massive upgrade this is, compared to the previous Asprey Purple Rain collection, which I personally found to be completely unremarkable. I find Diptyque to have a very pleasant scent without being overpowering. It’s something I otherwise associate with Qatar Airways, as it’s the only major airline to partner with the brand. Speaking of changes in recent years in the luxury Marriott portfolio, St. Regis has moved to SACHAJUAN, which I find to be unmemorable.

Aesop at Waldorf Astoria

A couple of years ago, Waldorf Astoria made the switch from Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries to Aesop toiletries. I’d consider that to be a significant upgrade. I love the scent of Aesop, and it can’t help but always remind me of Cathay Pacific back in the day (which used to have a close collaboration with Aesop — the airline now uses Bamford, which is great as well, and I wish we’d see a major hotel group partner with Bamford).

BVLGARI at various hotel brands

I love BVLGARI toiletries, including the packaging, scent, and feeling of using them. The catch is that while many hotels have BVLGARI toiletries, there’s not much consistency as to which brands have them. Yes, as you’d expect, BVLGARI hotels have these products, but that’s a small hotel group, with under 10 properties. On top of that, you’ll find BVLGARI toiletries at select properties of Four Seasons, Rosewood, and more.

Acqua Di Parma at various hotel brands

Acqua Di Parma is another one of my favorite hotel toiletry brands, in terms of packaging and scent. The catch is that there’s not a major hotel group that consistently stocks these products, though they’re common enough among hotel groups that I feel good about including it on the list. For example, while not brand standard, the St. Regis Venice uses Acqua Di Parma products.

Molton Brown at various hotel brands

Molton Brown makes great products (I particularly like the soap). While no major hotel group consistently has Molton Brown products, I find that they’re pretty common at luxury hotels, including at many Marriott Luxury Collection properties.

Byredo at various hotel brands

I think Byredo is worth mentioning, as you’ll find the Bal d’Afrique product line at many InterContinental properties, and the Le Chemin product line at many Luxury Collection properties. While I don’t like this quite as much as some of the brands mentioned above, I appreciate that it’s often available at more mid-range properties, where you won’t typically find brands like Aesop and Le Labo.

MALIN+GOETZ at Le Meridien

Admittedly this is a bit lower end than the other options, but I wanted to also throw in a toiletry brand from a more mid-range hotel brand. For upscale hotels, I’d say that MALIN+GOETZ, available at Le Meridien properties, is probably my favorite line.

Bottom line

The above are eight of my favorite hotel toiletry lines. As you can see, some are pretty consistently available at select hotel brands, while others are frequently offered, though not consistently at any brand. I don’t claim that my opinions are right, but the above are the toiletry brands I’m typically most excited to see at hotels.

What are your favorite hotel toiletry brands?

IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced the expansion of its voco hotels brand to Phuket, Thailand, in partnership with AssetWise Public Company Limited and its subsidiary Rhom Bho Property Public Company Limited.

Opening in 2029, the 175-key voco Phuket Bangtao will welcome guests to the upscale Bangtao area on Phuket’s West Coast. This marks voco hotels’ third signing in Thailand—and the first in Phuket—adding to the brand’s global portfolio of over 180 open and pipeline properties since its 2018 debut.

Prime location and continued growth

Just 30 minutes from Phuket International Airport, voco Phuket Bangtao will be located in the vibrant heart of Bangtao—an area known for its white sand beaches, lively beach clubs, and diverse dining scene. The 175-room property will feature a restaurant, lounge, bar, spa, swimming pool, and fitness center, offering guests a well-rounded lifestyle experience.

Thailand remains a key growth market for IHG, which currently operates 40 hotels across nine brands, with 41 more in the pipeline. The company plans to double its presence in the country in the coming years. voco Phuket Bangtao follows the brand’s upcoming Thailand debut with voco Bangkok Surawong, opening later this year.

IHG and AssetWise on the signing

Bryan Chan, Vice President, Development, Southeast Asia and Korea, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said, “IHG has a great tradition in Phuket and its surrounding area with fantastic properties across our Six Senses, InterContinental, Vignette Collection, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, and Holiday Inn Express brands. voco Phuket Bangtao will be a wonderful addition to our estate, strengthening IHG’s presence throughout the city.”

Also commenting on the signing, Paneeta Malaivongs, Deputy CEO, AssetWise Public Company Limited, stated, “We are thrilled to work with IHG for our first foray into hospitality and bring this wonderful new hotel to Phuket. We have seen IHG’s success in launching new brands and experiences in the market and are confident they are the perfect partner to deliver results with us.”