Breakfast scents make sense at Holiday Inn Express

Start your day with the Breakfast Alarm Clock at Holiday Inn Express

Holiday Inn has introduced an alarm clock featuring breakfast aromas in place of jarring beeps.

Research commissioned by Holiday Inn Express, part of the IHG hotels group, found that restless sleep, chronic snoozing and skipped breakfasts are common themes across the region. More than 70% of those surveyed admitted to losing part of their morning routine while away, with skipping breakfast a frequent theme.

The Breakfast Alarm Clock is the world’s first scent-based alarm clock created by a hotel brand and gently wakes guests with the tempting aroma of breakfast. Research participants named coffee or tea, baked goods and fresh fruit as their preferred scent to lift their morning mood. The design team took note, with a trio of country-dependent scents that guests can choose to wake them from their slumbers. In Singapore and Thailand, guests can awaken to coffee, blueberry muffin or mango. In Australia, they can opt for bacon, coffee or blueberry muffin and in Japan, bacon is substituted for nashi pear.

“Holiday Inn Express is about offering guests more of what matters,” said Dean Jones, vice president of Commercial, East Asia & Pacific at IHG Hotels & Resorts. “We wanted to take this to new heights with something that we know guests will never forget. Waking up and maintaining a routine while travelling can be harder than it sounds, which is something the research underscored for us. But we also know the power of scent: that first whiff of coffee or smell of fresh pastry can work wonders - especially when (the breakfast) is free.”

The Breakfast Alarm Clock experience is available for a limited time in Asia Pacific throughout October and November.