Travelodge failed assault victim 'at every stage', independent review finds

A woman who was sexually assaulted by a man given a key to her hotel room was "fundamentally failed" by Travelodge "at every stage", an independent review has found.

Barrister Paul Greaney KC said the chain's security policies at the time of the attack at its Maidenhead hotel in December 2022 were "not fit for the purpose of keeping guests safe".

He found guests were still not as safe as they should be, with room intrusions reported at nearly one-in-10 Travelodge hotels this summer, and no policy in place on violence against women and girls.

Travelodge apologised "unreservedly" to the woman. The review did credit the company with making changes since March.

Kyran Smith, who obtained the key by falsely claiming to be the woman's boyfriend, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in January.

The review found he was handed the key less than three minutes after approaching the reception desk, by a receptionist who had received no training in key security.

Greaney said blame rested with Travelodge, that has its HQ in Thame, Oxfordshire, as an organisation rather than with individual staff, and a culture had developed in which room intrusions were regarded as "one of those things".

The woman emailed a complaint to Travelodge in January 2023, addressed to chief executive Jo Boydell and others.

The review concluded the email was handled by her office without her knowledge, and did not come to Boydell's attention until March 2026.

The woman's complaint was instead investigated by a manager who was himself criticised in it, and the customer services team offered her a refund for her night's stay, which she understood to be £30.

Boydell stepped down as chief executive in August following criticism over the company's handling of safety complaints. The review said she deserved credit for driving improvements from March.

The attack became national news in March after the woman contacted the BBC, saying the case raised serious questions about room security at Travelodge hotels.

Since then, dozens of people have shared experiences of strangers entering their rooms, including a domestic abuse victim whose abuser was given a key to her room at a Travelodge in London.

Then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote to Boydell in March urging her to "seriously engage" with the government over security. Greaney was appointed to lead the review the following month.

The review makes 38 recommendations, including moving towards a system that requires guests to show ID to get a room key, which Travelodge has been trialling at some hotels since May.

It also calls for body-worn cameras for reception staff, better checks that staff have understood their training, and for housekeepers to always send guests to reception.

Greaney said Travelodge must "urgently" create a policy on violence against women and girls, drawn up with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, and train all staff in it.

The review said changes made this year had been done quickly "albeit years too late" and its new key security policy would prevent a repeat of the Maidenhead attack if applied correctly.

But it found the policy was "not being applied with anything like sufficient consistency on the ground".

Mystery shoppers were able to get into rooms through housekeeping staff at all five hotels tested, including Maidenhead, without being sent to reception or asked for proof they were entitled to enter.

At three of the hotels, staff confirmed a guest was staying there, and at two, room numbers were said out loud at check-in. The Maidenhead hotel scored worst of the five.

Other recommendations included networked CCTV across the chain and key card-controlled access to all residential corridors.

Greaney said room intrusions were a problem across the hotel sector.

He praised the woman's courage and determination, saying the problems would have remained "beneath the surface" had she not shared her experience.

Freddie van Mierlo, the Liberal Democrat MP for Henley and Thame, where Travelodge is based, said he was worried the company was "still trying to do safety on the cheap".

He said the review's recommendations would require "significant capital investment", and Travelodge needed to make clear it was prepared to deliver that.

In response, a Travelodge spokesperson said: "We are committed to implementing the recommendations and will make the necessary investments to do so.

"We cannot provide a specific figure but can assure people that all required investments in guest safety will be made and we have the resources required."

Ray Reidy, Travelodge's interim chief executive, said the review made clear there were failures in its policies and in the way customers had been treated.

"I apologise unreservedly on behalf of Travelodge to all guests where we have failed," he said.

"We have made significant progress in preventing and addressing these issues over the past six months, and we recognise we still have further to go."

Travelodge said a new board committee would oversee the changes, with independent assessments of its progress after six and 12 months.