A warm welcome is the first thing guests expect when entering a hotel. Not at Hilton, where by 2016 all guests will be able to use their phone to choose a room, check-in and unlock the door all without speaking to anyone. Is travel getting more personalised or too impersonal?

The smartphone is rapidly becoming a traveller's essential companion before, during and after a trip. And meeting people's expectations when on holiday, Virgin Hotels has introduced Lucy – a mobile app that allows guests to integrate it into their hotel experience.

Push for a pizza, swipe for a cleaner and tap for a taxi. The rise of apps like Uber is facilitating the culture of ‘I want it, and I want it now’. For digital-savvy city-dwellers from London to Beijing, everything you need – from your dinner to a ride home – is just an app away.

While luxury brands move away from the ‘stuffy’ traditions, a new breed of hotels that spans the entire price spectrum is competing to meet the needs of the digitally dependent Millennials. But how is such a long-standing industry redefining itself to meet the needs of Gen Y?