Travelodge’s treatment of woman assaulted in hotel ‘disgraceful,’ review finds

A WOMAN who was sexually assaulted at a Travelodge after a man was given a key card to her room was treated in a “disgraceful” way and “fundamentally failed” by the chain, an independent review has found. The report said the case uncovered problems with room security not just within the business but across the entire hotel sector. Conducted by Paul Greaney KC, the review found the woman, referred to as “Lily,” was “fundamentally failed by Travelodge as an organisation at every stage.” She was treated “in a way that was inappropriate and unfair; indeed, it was disgraceful.” Kyran Smith was jailed for seven-and-a-half years following the assault in Maidenhead, Berkshire, in December 2022. The review found he lied to a junior member of staff that he was Lily’s boyfriend and was given a key to her room less than three minutes later. Lily emailed a complaint in January 2023 asking bosses to review security processes, but this did not reach former chief executive Jo Boydell until more than three years later. The complaint was handled by customer services and investigated by a senior hotel manager, which Mr Greaney described as “inadequate.” Lily was then made an “insulting offer of a reimbursement of her night’s stay,” which she interpreted as £30. The report said Travelodge’s treatment of Lily “fell short of every standard the public would expect.” Ms Boydell stepped down as chief executive in August and was replaced on an interim basis by Ray Reidy. Mr Reidy said: “I apologise unreservedly on behalf of Travelodge to all guests where we have failed, and particularly to Lily.” Acknowledging the report today, he accepted failures in room access security and said Travelodge was dedicating “significant resources” to improvements.