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Meanwhile at the Citizen M hotel in Amsterdam, check-in is done through a self-serve computer and each of the hotel’s rooms comes equipped with a ‘mood pad’ that allows guests to control lighting, temperature, curtains and television to create the perfect ambience.

Closer to home, low-cost UK hotel chain Premier Inn has recently opened its first high-tech hub hotel, in London’s Covent Garden. Central to its offer is a new app that allows customers to book a room, check in, order breakfast and change the temperature or lighting in their room. The app also acts as a kind of concierge, providing customers with a list of things to see and do, as well as recommendations for places to eat and drink in the surrounding area.

With these sorts of automated services becoming more commonplace, it seems these days you can stay in a hotel without having to exchange more than a few words with staff or fellow guests. This is in ...