The UK's biggest hotel chain is set to open a new line of budget city hotels that provide app-based check-ins and improved connectivity for people who pride location and design over space. Whitbread will open its first Premier Inn 'hub' in Covent Garden, London in the fall of 2014, compacting a bed, bathroom, and work space into a room measuring just 123 square-feet.

Whitbread claims they will be the first rooms in the UK that allow guests to control their hotel experience using an app, giving customers the option to book and check in online, as well as set the room temperature and light settings before they set foot in the room. In keeping with the smart theme, guests will be able to select the TV or radio channel they want to play in their room when they arrive and stream content from their phone or tablet direct a 40-inch TV. Meals can also be pre-ordered using the all-in-one app.

The announcement comes a year after Whitbread set up five prototype rooms in one of its Premier Inn hotels in Kings Cross, London. The company plans to open five new smart hotels in the UK in the next three years, providing around 1,000 rooms, expanding to 40 locations (6,000 rooms) by 2018.

Please note: the promotional video does not feature sound.