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Singapore’s hotels have spent decades perfecting service with a smile. Now two neighbours near Orchard Road want to see whether robots can handle the errands while people provide the smiles.

It is a promising idea. It must also survive real hotel life: busy lifts, late-night requests, crowded corridors, and the occasional guest who assumes a phone call can solve every problem.

US-listed YYForce Inc (NASDAQ: YFOR) has struck a deal with Novotel Singapore on Stevens and Mercure Singapore on Stevens. They plan to use service robots at the two hotels, which together have 772 rooms. The deal also opens the door to tests of humanoid robots. One day, these may help with room cleaning and banquet work.

But the two plans are different. The first robot rollout is confirmed but has not begun. Work on humanoid robots comes later. They are not yet serving hotel guests.

First, let robots do the legwork

The first phase is about chores, not science fiction. Robots could take towels and food orders to rooms. They could also move items for dining outlets and events, clean parts of lobbies and halls, and answer simple guest questions.

The hotels have plenty of ground to cover. Novotel has 254 rooms, while Mercure has 518. Restaurants, meeting spaces and shared areas add to the daily traffic. Food Exchange and Winestone are among the dining venues included in the planning.

But these machines cannot just turn up and start work. Hotel lifts must be linked to the robots. Routes must be mapped. The network must cope. Guests must get alerts when items arrive. The hotels still need to set the exact tasks for each machine. Help with check-in needs a fresh review and sign-off.

YYForce will supply the robots, software, repairs and tech support under the deal. The firms have signed a memorandum of understanding. The final fees and terms are still to come.

Piotr Kupiec, general manager of both hotels, says the aim is to free staff for the moments that demand a human touch. His guiding principle is plain: “We want to use robotics thoughtfully”.

That is sensible. Guests may welcome a robot bearing fresh towels. They are less likely to applaud one that cannot understand a simple complaint.

The 10 per cent question

For hotel bosses, the most tempting figure is 10 per cent. That is how much the firms think they might save on some monthly costs. The estimate covers set tasks in room cleaning, guest help and food service. The model accounts for robot costs.

But this is not a verified saving, and it certainly does not promise to trim 10 per cent from both hotels’ entire operating budgets. The figures come from planning work completed before deployment.

A separate assumption suggests rooms-department overtime costs might fall by 5 per cent. That estimate uses a different base and must not be added to the 10 per cent figure.

Once the robots start work, managers will need hard numbers. Did deliveries get faster? Did the robots work when needed? Were staff less rushed? And, most of all, did guests feel better looked after? Saving five minutes in a corridor counts for little if a guest waits ten more at reception.

Why Singapore makes sense

Singapore’s hotels are busy. Singapore Tourism Board figures show 16.9 million overseas visitors in 2025. Some 1.3 million came from Australia. The city’s hotels averaged 81.9 per cent occupancy, up from 81.4 per cent in 2024.

Those are citywide figures, not results for the two Stevens Road hotels. But they help explain why operators are looking for ways to protect service standards while using staff time better.

For Aussie travel advisers and business travel buyers, the point is not whether a robot looks smart. It is whether a stay feels smooth. Faster drop-offs and staff with more time for guests could help. A robot that gets in the way will not.

Humanoids are the next chapter, not today’s headline act

The bigger plan is to learn from how people do hard jobs. In a later phase, staff may show researchers how they clean rooms, move gear and serve banquets. The aim is to teach humanoid robots what these jobs demand. This phase is still part of the research plan.

The work may help YYForce build better machines and AI tools. It does not prove that a humanoid robot can make a bed in an occupied room or run a large dinner on its own.

YYForce chief executive Mike Fu says the scheme will “move robotics development from controlled demonstrations toward real-world workflows”. The firm’s long-term aim is for people, AI and robots to work side by side.

Trust is also a question. The firms say they will set terms on how test data can be used and who owns it. For guests and staff, personal data would need extra checks and safeguards. That should not be an afterthought. Even the smartest robot must respect a hotel guest’s privacy.

A hotel must be welcoming before it is clever. Novotel and Mercure now have a chance to see whether robots can do the running around without making hospitality feel less personal.

The machines may eventually take on the repetitive journeys. For the warm welcome, the useful local tip and the calm response when plans go wrong, a good hotelier remains hard to beat.