An independent review into Travelodge room access security found that guests remain at risk across the budget hotel chain after a guest was sexually assaulted in her Maidenhead room by an intruder who obtained a key card by deception.
The 70-page evaluation, led by barrister Paul Greaney KC and published on Thursday, uncovered room intrusion reports at nearly one in 10 Travelodge properties during the summer. The review was commissioned following the December 2022 assault at the Maidenhead hotel in King Street, where the perpetrator, Kyran Smith, lied to a junior receptionist that he was the victim’s boyfriend and received a key card to her room in less than three minutes. Smith was sentenced in February to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
Travelodge Fails Guest Safety Standards
The report concluded that the victim, identified in the findings as Lily
, was fundamentally failed by Travelodge as an organisation at every stage. Greaney found that the room security policies in place at the time were fundamentally inadequate and not fit for the purpose of keeping guests safe. He noted that her treatment by members of Travelodge staff in December 2022 was nothing short of disgraceful.
Instead of reaching top executives, the email was handled by customer services and investigated by a senior hotel manager in a manner Greaney described as inadequate and downplaying the seriousness of what happened.
Travelodge’s treatment of Lily, following her complaint in writing, fell short of every standard the public would expect of an organisation such as Travelodge. It was simply appalling.
Paul Greaney KC
Jo Boydell stepped down in August and was replaced on an interim basis by Ray Reidy, though the review noted she led an immediate drive for change once she became aware of the 2022 assault.
Review Exposes Ongoing Hotel Vulnerabilities
During an evaluation at the Maidenhead branch of Travelodge, a staff member omitted the updated protocol for logging a second visitor’s identity.
Greaney stated that he was not satisfied that enough had yet been done to ensure guests were safe.
Following their joint development of the Guest Security: Hotel Industry Principles and Good Practice
guidance, he recommended that Travelodge maintain its partnership with UKHospitality to enhance guest protection standards.
Executives Commit To Board Oversight
I apologise unreservedly on behalf of Travelodge to all guests where we have failed, and particularly to Lily. 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.
Ray Reidy, interim chief executive of Travelodge
The hotel group has established a dedicated board committee for customer safety, security and services chaired by Reidy to oversee the implementation of the review’s recommendations over the next six to 12 months. These measures include independent progress assessments scheduled at six and 12 months, alongside continued cooperation with Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) partners, including the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.