Hotel chain Travelodge announced last week that it was using the technique in a bid to fill 30 manager vacancies as part of its programme of staffing new hotels.

So while most of us are still introducing the interview panel and checking whether the candidate wants a glass of water, Travelodge has already made its mind up that you are not fit to run a bed-and-breakfast.

Before anyone gets too excited about the unrealistic nature of hiring someone on the basis of 180 seconds of quick-fire repartee, it is worth checking the small print of the company's announcement.

As it turns out, the speed interview is just step one in the process and survivors will be expected to go through a full second-stage interview of unspecified length and rigour. So, not much more than a screening exercise with a twist, then.

But you have to hand it to Travelodge's publicity department. These are, after all, the same people who told us on Boxing Day that they were launching a recruitment campaign to "target redundant Father Christmases across the UK" to fill manager vacancies.

Over recent months the hyperactive PRs have also brought us high-tech pyjamas, "nodcasts" for the insomniac business traveller, and news of a rise in nude sleepwalking.

XpertHR's colleagues over at Travel Weekly have a good selection of the Travelodge PR department's greatest hits.