Tune Hotels, the well-known international budget hotel brand, is opening branches in London. Many cost as little as £9 per night, with pay-as-you-go services available to boost the hotel experience and improve conditions for visitors. One notable omission in the standard rooms is air conditioning, a pay-as-you-go extra only available to customers that check it as an added option. 
The rationale behind the hotels is simple: consumers are smarter than ever, and few want to pay for things that aren’t used. Air conditioning may be an absolute requirements in ultra-hot countries such as Singapore or Mexico, but in Britain many travellers and homeowners consider it similarly to Tune Hotels, as an added extra.
With London’s residents and visitors experiencing a rather extreme cool dip this year, it’s clear that the lack of air conditioning may not be such a bad thing. However, summer temperatures regularly hover in the mid 20s, and London’s July weather has touched on 35 degrees in extreme conditions. Many travellers opting for ultra-cheap accommodation may find themselves blowing the budget when air conditioning becomes less of an option, and more of a necessity.
Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see businesses experimenting with “necessities” such as air conditioning as an optional extra, and these units need air conditioning maintentance which is seen as an added expense. With the success of Tune Hotels in other countries – many of which experience extreme temperatures such as Malaysia – these air conditioning free rooms could end up being a smash hit amongst budget travellers and cost-cautious consumers.