Kyran Smith, 29, was jailed for seven and a half years in February for sexually assaulting a woman at the Travelodge Maidenhead branch in December 2022. Smith lied to reception staff, claiming to be the victim's boyfriend, to obtain a key card and her room number. Travelodge initially offered the Maidenhead assault victim a £30 refund, which she described as 'insulting'. The victim is now taking legal action against Travelodge and has rejected the company's apology, according to major media reports.
Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell apologized to victims and stated the company has strengthened its room access policy, requiring explicit guest consent for key issuance. Travelodge has commissioned an independent review of its room security policies and is retraining staff. The company has made immediate changes to its door key policy after a hotel guest was sexually assaulted by a man who was given the key card to her room, according to the Travelodge hotel chain.
Travelodge got things wrong and should have acted sooner.
In a separate recent incident, Wendy Griffith was trapped in her Travelodge London Stratford room in July 2025 for an hour while a naked man, Trevor Reece, banged on her door and performed sex acts in the corridor, according to major media reports. Trevor Reece, 40, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency in September 2025 and was sentenced to four months of alcohol dependency treatment and ordered to pay costs and compensation. During the incident, Wendy Griffith's tormentor went to reception and asked for a replacement key, giving her room number instead of his own, according to major media reports.
Multiple other security failures have been reported at Travelodge hotels. Chris Adamson and her husband had a stranger walk into their Travelodge Lincoln room in April after staff gave him a key card, according to major media reports. John Nowell and a colleague were given keys to occupied rooms at the Travelodge Excel in Newham, east London, twice in one week, according to major media reports. Philippa and Jan Palmer reported strangers entering their Travelodge rooms in separate incidents, according to major media reports.
Travelodge had ample opportunity to deal with the case better but took a very long time to reply and didn't take it very seriously.
Dozens of people have reported similar security failures at Travelodge and other hotels, indicating industry-wide issues, according to major media reports. Sarah (pseudonym) was raped in a non-Travelodge hotel after a colleague tricked staff into giving him her room key by claiming to be her husband, according to major media reports.
Political pressure has mounted on Travelodge's leadership. CEO Jo Boydell cancelled a meeting with MPs about the Maidenhead assault, drawing criticism from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and others, according to major media reports. Nearly 100 MPs have demanded a meeting with Jo Boydell to discuss Travelodge's security policies and safeguarding for women, according to major media reports.
Jo Boydell would welcome the opportunity to meet the victim to discuss what happened and learn from mistakes.
Contradictions have emerged in CEO Jo Boydell's account of when she learned about the assault. Boydell claimed she only learned of the Maidenhead assault when Smith appeared in court, but the victim had emailed her directly in January 2023, according to major media reports. The woman claimed staff told her Smith had passed their security checks by providing her name, according to the woman.
Travelodge is hiring change delivery coaches and a senior change programme manager to transform its culture and improve security, according to major media reports. However, the specific security checks Travelodge staff performed before giving Kyran Smith the key card remain unclear. It is also unknown how many similar security incidents have occurred at Travelodge beyond the reported cases.
It wouldn't be OK to issue a key to her room without her consent.
The outcome of the independent review commissioned by Travelodge and its findings have not been disclosed. Whether Travelodge's new policy requiring guest consent for key issuance is being consistently enforced across all hotels is another unresolved issue. The status and details of the legal action being taken by the Maidenhead assault victim against Travelodge are also pending.
As Travelodge implements these measures, the hospitality industry watches closely. The chain's response will likely influence standards across budget accommodations. Guests and advocates continue to call for mandatory training and stricter penalties for security lapses. Until the independent review concludes and new policies are fully operational, concerns about guest safety at Travelodge persist.