The business model of CitizenM is different from that of other affordable hotels. As CMO Robin Chadha put it when I met him at the London Bankside CitizenM ahead of Tower Hill’s opening, “The rooms are small but posh and everything is in the communal spaces.” They use a modular new-build system making the hotels very efficient to put up, operate a lean staffing model, and rely more on direct bookings than other chains. This means they can afford to spend money on the finishing touches (the furniture is almost all designer and almost all sourced from Vitra) and crucially they provide everything their guests could possibly need in the communal spaces ? which includes really decent co-working spaces in their lobbies, comprising custom-made communal tables, some with plug-sockets for your own laptop, and some with iMacs and printers which are free for guests to use. The hotels were inspired by a new breed of “mobile citizen” and modelled more closely on their homes than other hotels. “How do you spend your time at home ? how much time do you spend in your bedroom",” says Robin. “I sleep there, maybe I read a book or go and watch a TV show, but I live in my living room and my kitchen, so why would we do it any differently in the hotel"”

In addition to the lobby spaces, ‘societyM’ is located on the top two floors, and accessible to guests only. Perched on a mezzanine level above the double-height CloudM...