Holiday Inn Express has launched the world’s first hotel-designed scent alarm clock, helping travellers wake to the smell of coffee, bacon or blueberry muffins instead of traditional beeping. Olivia Palamountain reports

Holiday Inn Express has introduced an innovative in-room wake-up experience that replaces traditional alarms with the soothing scent of breakfast. The new Breakfast Alarm Clock, a first for any hotel brand, is now being trialled across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Japan, offering guests a gentler and more sensory way to start the day.

The idea was inspired by new research commissioned by the brand that revealed almost nine in ten travellers across Asia Pacific struggle with sleep, while more than half say a pleasant smell can lift their morning mood – especially when away from home.

Among the scents most associated with positive feelings, respondents named coffee and tea, bacon and eggs, baked goods and fresh fruit. Those aromas have now been distilled into a trio of signature wake-up scents for the device: Coffee, Bacon and Blueberry Muffin in Australia and New Zealand; Nashi Pear in Japan; and Mango in Singapore and Thailand.The device functions like a diffuser-style alarm clock. Guests select their preferred scent, and rather than being startled awake by noise, they are gently roused by the wafting aroma of a fresh breakfast. It’s a playful extension of the brand’s signature promise – a free hot breakfast, anywhere and always – reimagined as a multi-sensory moment that begins before guests even leave their beds.

Dean Jones, vice president of commercial for East Asia & Pacific at IHG Hotels & Resorts, says the concept came directly from guest insights. “We know from the research that travellers across Asia Pacific are struggling with sleep, and many skip breakfast when they travel – sometimes to save money,” he explains. “Holiday Inn Express is about offering guests more of what matters, so we wanted to take this to new heights with something they’ll never forget. That first whiff of coffee or a fresh croissant can work wonders – especially when it’s free.”

The Breakfast Alarm Clock builds on the brand’s wider focus on improving guest wellbeing through rest and routine. Alongside the scent-based experience, Holiday Inn Express continues to refine its “Express Recharge” promise, which includes blackout blinds, pillow choices, power showers and bedside charging ports to ensure a restorative night’s sleep.

Available for a limited time from now, the Breakfast Alarm Clock experience will feature in select Holiday Inn Express hotels across the participating markets. Guests can choose their preferred aroma when booking their stay, ensuring that mornings begin with the comforting fragrance of breakfast in bed.