Would you want a hotel alarm clock that wakes you up with the smell of bacon?

It's 6am and the smell of bacon permeates my hotel room. And no, it isn't coming from room service, but something altogether weirder. It's an alarm clock that emits the smell of breakfast.

The marketing engine behind IHG's Holiday Inn Express claim this is the first time a scented alarm clock has been rolled out to a hotel group. And indeed, I've never seen anything like it. The Breakfast Alarm Clock is a diffuser-style scent alarm with a timer. Just choose your fragrance - either blueberry muffins, coffee or bacon - whack a few drops in the diffuser, set the timer and hey presto.

Holiday Inn Express says the alarm clock is available for a "limited time" from October across Australia and New Zealand, and will be rolled out at selected properties in Singapore, Thailand and Osaka, Japan.

But why are they doing this? Firstly, everyone who stays at Holiday Inn Express gets free buffet breakfast, so it's a nod to that. But there's also some research behind it.

IHG Hotels & Resorts, together with YouGov, hosted a survey of over 1000 Aussies and found 60 per cent of respondents agreed a pleasant smell could lift their mood first thing in the morning. One in three admitted they found it harder to wake up while on the go, and 15 per cent skipped breakfast due to oversleeping at hotels.

Rob Fahey, general manager at Holiday Inn Express Australia, said people are looking for something extra these days. Rather than just a bed and a shower for the night, it's all about the "experience".

"That's what we pride ourselves on ... how we treat people, how we make people feel versus just your standard hotel room," he told Explore.

Other hotels seem to have a similar idea, because there are a plethora of weird and wonderful hotel marketing gimmicks out there.

From dog treats on pillows to robot waiters, here is our list of the strangest hotel marketing strategies we have heard of (and secretly want to try).

Lie back on your lavender-scented pillow and ... oh, not comfy enough? Just order another: they also come in buckwheat and memory foam. Pillow menus are the most basic hotel staple PR gimmick. And some menus are so enticing, you might spend more time choosing your pillow than your dinner.

Gone are the days when a night away for you meant a night in the kennel for your dog. Hotels are rolling out the red carpet for man's best friend with spa treatments, "pup menus" and even a doggy turndown service complete with a bone on the pillow.

Turn your air guitar into a one-man show starring you, with your very own Fender guitar to play. A hotel in Nashville, Tennessee - a city known for its music scene - offers a sesh with the illustrious instrument complete with an in-app guitar lesson. But don't worry if you sound terrible: you can do all this from the comfort of your own room.

First there were water beds, now there are water rooms - or at least, floor-to-ceiling hotel windows looking out at aquariums, or even the actual sea. If sharks enter your nightmares, then this one isn't for you.

Ice bars are not enough, apparently - now we need to sleep in ice rooms. Every year when winter descends, hotels are built from ice in Canada, Norway and Finland. To really get you in the wintry mood, guests sleep atop animal skins on a bed made of ice. The temperature is minus five degrees, inside - and heating is not included.

What's the wackiest hotel PR stunt you've seen? Tell us at editor@exploretravel.com.au