A woman who was sexually assaulted at a Travelodge after staff gave her attacker a key to her room has dismissed the hotel chain’s apology as inadequate, accusing executives of moving too slowly on security reforms and making her feel “dismissed.”
The survivor, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, criticised Travelodge’s chief executive Jo Boydell for what she described as reactive rather than proactive measures following the December 2022 attack at the chain’s Maidenhead branch in Berkshire.
“They’re only doing things as and when they need to rather than actually thinking, ‘Actually no, this is wrong,'” the woman told the BBC. “It’s like they’re taking slow steps to get to the right point but they’re not getting there fast enough.”
Kyran Smith, 29, deceived reception staff by claiming to be the victim’s boyfriend, enabling him to obtain both a room key card and her room number after following her from a party they had both attended. He was sentenced to seven and a half years’ imprisonment in February.
The victim expressed shock that Ms Boydell had cancelled a scheduled meeting with MPs to discuss the assault, a decision that prompted Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to state he was “very concerned” about the “utterly appalling” incident.
Travelodge’s initial response offered the woman a £30 refund, which she branded “insulting.” The hotel chain has since apologised and implemented policy changes requiring explicit guest consent before issuing room keys, whilst launching an independent review led by barrister Paul Greaney KC.
Ms Boydell told BBC Breakfast: “Clearly we’ve made mistakes and I genuinely apologise to the victim for what happened to her and the way that we handled her case subsequently – it clearly wasn’t good enough.”
The chief executive acknowledged awareness of “other instances” of unwanted individuals entering rooms, admitting she only learned of this particular assault after Smith’s conviction last month. She conceded the case should have been escalated internally but “something went wrong.”
The victim is pursuing legal action against Travelodge, noting her room lacked a safety chain for additional security. She alleged Smith bypassed reception security checks simply by knowing her name.
Labour MP Jen Craft, who represents Thurrock, warned the chain has “a long way to go until people feel safe in their hotels again” following discussions with Ms Boydell. Mrs Craft highlighted concerns about vulnerable individuals and business travellers using Travelodge accommodation, questioning whether organisations should reconsider placements at the chain.
All 12,000 customer-facing Travelodge employees will receive training on security protocols as part of the response measures.
