• A total of 99 winners were recognised for their kindness and service excellence in the hospitality industry at the 28th National Kindness Awards — Service Gold 2022 ceremony
• Guest of Honour, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Ms Low Yen Ling presented the awards to the winners during the ceremony
• Dr William Wan, General Secretary of Singapore Kindness Movement, remarked the importance of kindness and graciousness in attracting more tourists to Singapore.

SINGAPORE – 23 Nov 2022 – The 28th edition of the National Kindness Awards – Service Gold 2022 Ceremony recognised service excellence in the hospitality industry today. All winners were presented the awards by the Guest of Honour, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Ms Low Yen Ling. The awards show that despite the disruption caused by the pandemic to the hospitality industry, the service standards of our hotels remain stellar. This can be seen by the recent revival in tourist numbers since our borders reopened.

The event, held at the Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium Hotel, was attended by service staff and ‘Gracious Guests’ from 57 hotels. The Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) and the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) jointly organise the Awards, which recognise service professionals who go above and beyond to provide exceptional service to their guests, as well as hotel guests who show kindness to service staff.

Andik Ismail Bin Ismail, from the Swissotel The Stamford, is one of this year’s winners. As a Duty Manager, Andik always goes the extra mile for his guests. His friendly demeanour and warm smile reassure guests that there is nothing he cannot do or help. Once, Andik met an elderly couple who arrived at the hotel without their luggage as it was delayed. The elderly couple was very worried, as they had no idea how to retrieve their luggage. Andik took ownership of the matter by helping them liaise with the airline, and escorted the guests to the nearby shopping mall to buy toiletries while waiting for the luggage to be delivered to the hotel. When the luggage finally arrived, he sent it up personally to the couple, helping them unpack to ensure that they were well settled to have a pleasant stay.

Another winner is Charmine Goh Sze Xuan, who is an Assistant Manager from the Oasia Hotel Novena. In one incident, a guest who was deaf, Mr Cheng, had checked into his room for his isolation stay. As she wanted to confirm that Mr Cheng had all the information he needed, Charmine personally contacted him via WhatsApp to introduce herself and check in on his well-being. She texted him promptly on all the information and house rules which are usually shared by the admission team during check-in. When Mr Cheng contacted Charmine about adjusting the room’s temperature, Charmine guided him over WhatsApp, on how he can adjust the thermostat and the room lightings. She also came up with a system on how Mr Cheng may be notified of items or meals left outside of his room for him. Besides checking in on Mr. Cheng daily, Charmine proactively contacted his daughter, Mdm Cheng, to assure her that her father is well taken care of.

One of the Gracious Guest recipients, Mr Theodoric Tam, has been nominated by Sofitel Singapore City Centre. It is interesting to note that this is Mr Tam’s second Gracious Guest award and he was nominated by another hotel previously. This shows that Mr Tam is always friendly to all hotel staff and treats all people with respect and dignity. He always makes the effort to remember the names of each member of the staff. Mr Tam’s patronage and altruism make the hotel staff feel at ease whenever he passes by. Also, Mr Tam is never hesitant about expressing his concerns, and his feedback and comments had always aimed to improve and strive for service excellence.

“Our tourism sector is vital to Singapore’s continued growth as a vibrant global city. Those who work in the hospitality industry are our brand ambassadors who represent Singapore to our visitors. I commend the winners of the National Kindness Awards for their dedication, care and unswerving commitment to service excellence. Standing behind them are colleagues and supervisors who have kept our tourism and hospitality industry resilient and rebounding from the pandemic. Every action and kind word counts as we seek to attract and welcome more visitors and friends to experience our island’s hospitality and unique offerings,” said Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Ms Low Yen Ling.

Dr. William Wan, General Secretary of the SKM said, “As Singapore opens up again for tourists, our hotel staff once again have the opportunity to make lasting impressions on their overseas guests. Often, we not only take in the sights of the countries that we travel to, but also cherish the human connections made. By being champions of kindness, our winners definitely made an impression with their service excellence. The kinder you are, the stronger our hospitality industry will become”.