Hotels Are Now Waking You Up With… Smells?

Forget the jarring BEEP BEEP BEEP of a traditional alarm clock — your next hotel stay might wake you up with the sweet smell of bacon. Or coffee. Or… blueberry muffins.

Holiday Inn Express has started testing “scent-based alarm clocks” in select locations, and suddenly, that continental breakfast is feeling a lot fancier.

The clocks work like diffusers, releasing a scent of your choice when it’s time to wake up. Basically, it’s like being gently roused by your grandma’s kitchen instead of being violently ripped from dreamland by technology.

Wake Up and Smell the… Whatever You Want

The test scents vary depending on where you are:

• Australia & New Zealand: Coffee, Bacon, Blueberry Muffin
• Japan: Add Nashi Pear to the mix
• Singapore & Thailand: Mango is on the menu

Sadly, no American rollout yet, which means no pumpkin spice lattes-in-bed for our neighbours to the south. (Although, give it time. If Starbucks taught us anything, pumpkin spice is a year-round lifestyle now.)

And yes — the breakfast-y scents aren’t a cruel trick. Guests who choose the food-based aromas also get free breakfast in the lobby. A wake-up call you can smell and eat? Not bad, Holiday Inn. Not bad.

RELATED: The Scents We Miss When We’re Away from Home

But What About Local Flavours?

If hotels really want to go all-in, maybe they should start offering region-specific smells. Imagine checking in and setting your alarm to:

• Canada: Tim Hortons double-double, maple syrup, or poutine gravy steam.
• New York: Hot dog cart with a side of pretzel salt.
• Texas: Barbecue smoke and Bud Light.
• Paris: Fresh croissant and cigarette smoke (authentic!).
• Toronto: TTC subway brake dust and shawarma at 2 a.m.

Sure, some people can sleep through anything — even an entire diner cooking in their room — but for the rest of us, waking up to “coffee and bacon” beats “hotel neighbour slamming their door” every single time.

The Big Question

If you had a scent alarm clock in your hotel room, what would you want to wake up to? Something sweet and cozy like vanilla pancakes… or something chaotic like fresh-cut grass and gasoline (aka, dad’s Saturday morning starter pack)?