No-frills rooms which are just 8.5 square metres in size, including a bathroom, are to be offered by a hotel chain.

They are called Zip by Premier Inn, and start from £19 – and the first of them is set to open in Cardiff’s Roath district early next year.

Whitbread Plc, which says they are around less than half the size of a standard Premier Inn room, has billed them as “basics done brilliantly”.

They are to offer twin single beds that can be pushed together to make a double bed, air conditioning, a TV and WiFi.

The rooms are to be based on the outskirts of major towns and cities.

They have been created by PriestmanGoode, who have designed first class airline cabins.

Whitbread Plc chief executive Alison Brittain suggested that Zip is “an exciting new platform for growth and will give us access to a broader customer base, attracting those guests who are on a particularly tight budget but still expect and deserve the basics done brilliantly”.

She believes it could appeal to a wide-range of people who might use the hotel chain including those wanting longer staycations, those seeking a design-led experience in the heart of the city or short-stay value-conscious guests who want to “zip in and zip out”.

Premier Inn managing director Simon Jones, who said that six Zip rooms have previously been on sale, added: “It’s clear through the research that people want the basics done brilliantly, such as a comfy bed and a power shower but they are happy to compromise on location or some extras if they are paying a fantastic price for their room.”