Guests, especially gadget-mad Generation Xs, would soon be able to handle all their communication needs from hand-held devices, so outside-dialling telephones and in-room movie and data technology could become an unnecessary overhead.

Even windows were questioned. Rooms which have none, or gain light only from an internal source, suit more cost-effective building technology, but Gerard Greene, chief executive of Yotel, played down press reports of windowless bedrooms at his system-built concept.

Meanwhile, research from Carlson Hotels Worldwide highlighted smell as a number one guest priority. It reckoned a baked apple aroma wafting through the corridors guaranteed return visits.