RUBY HOTELS

The CEO of Ruby Hotels, Michael Struck, prefers to use the term “lean luxury” instead of “budget” when referring to his young hotel group, which began in Vienna and has since opened in Munich, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. What that means for guests is doing away with “outdated” concepts (like a reception desk) and leaving them with what they really need: iPad check-in; ergonomically designed bedrooms; and no restaurant, just a locally sourced breakfast spread. There’s even an in-house radio station. The most important factors, says Struck, are location and price. Forthcoming openings include London’s

Southbank (autumn 2019) and Shanghai (2020). Rooms from €69; ruby-hotels.com