YY Circle wins HAPA award for reshaping hospitality staffing in Malaysia

YY Circle's Malaysia push wins regional recognition

YY Group Holding Limited is receiving attention in Southeast Asia after its Southeast Asia director, Ken Teng, is honoured with the Hospitality Service Entrepreneur Award at the HAPA Awards for Excellence 2026. The accolade highlights YY Circle, the company’s AI-driven staffing and digital platform, for reshaping how hotels, food and beverage outlets and event venues access trained on-demand labour in Malaysia.

AI-driven staffing platform recognised for reshaping hospitality

YY Circle is presented as a technology-first solution that matches hospitality providers with flexible, vetted staff and automated scheduling. The platform is said to use machine learning to optimise rostering for peak periods, reduce overstaffing and improve cost control, while offering transparent booking and verified talent pools that aim to lift guest experience and operational efficiency.

The HAPA award underscores YY Group’s narrative that digital transformation materially changes staffing models in the hospitality sector. Company officials describe the recognition as validation of a model that produces measurable productivity gains and revenue uplift for partners, while creating economic opportunities for local gig workers through on-demand shifts and training pathways.

Ken Teng frames the honour as a collective achievement for the YY Circle team and a spur for continued innovation. He says the award motivates further work to expand service standards in Malaysia’s gig economy and to refine the platform’s AI tools to better forecast demand and reduce friction between employers and short-term workers. The recognition also highlights YY Group’s positioning as a Singapore-headquartered provider of integrated facilities management and tech-enabled human-resources services.

Regional expansion and service strategy

YY Group is actively scaling its integrated facilities management (IFM) and workforce solutions across Southeast Asia, leveraging the award as a credibility boost with clients and local partners. The company is emphasising a combination of technology, flexibility and quality to support hospitality operators managing variable demand and labour constraints.

Implications for the hospitality labour market

Industry observers say the HAPA nod reflects broader trends toward on-demand staffing platforms that marry AI scheduling with compliance and training. For hotels and F&B operators facing seasonal peaks and tight margins, YY Circle’s model offers a toolset for rapid scaling and better cost predictability while aiming to deliver consistent service levels.