More than 20 MPs have demanded an urgent meeting with the chief executive of Travelodge after a woman was sexually assaulted by a man who had been given her room number and a key card by hotel staff. The cross-party group, led by Labour MPs Matt Bishop and Jen Craft, said the case of Kyran Smith, 29, who was jailed for seven-and-a-half years last month, raised “deeply concerning” questions about guest safety.
Smith attacked the woman after a party in December 2022 at the Travelodge branch in Maidenhead. He had lied to reception staff, telling them he was the victim’s boyfriend, and was given a key card to her room. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said staff told her Smith had passed their security checks by providing her name.
Travelodge initially offered the victim a £30 refund for the incident, which the MPs described as “insulting”. The company later apologised, saying the offer was “inappropriate under the circumstances”, and has begun a review of its room security processes.
In a letter to Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell, the MPs – including former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell and Labour peer Baroness Jane Ramsey – asked to discuss how the refund decision was made, what internal review has taken place, and how security procedures have been strengthened. The letter states: “The details that have emerged regarding how access to the victim’s room was granted raise serious questions about guest safety, hotel security procedures and the adequacy of the response from Travelodge.”
A Travelodge spokesperson said Boydell would reply to MPs on Saturday. The spokesperson added: “We want to apologise to the victim for the way this incident has been handled. Travelodge adopts industry standard security procedures which were followed at the time of the incident in 2022. We will carry out a full review of our room security policies to learn from this incident and further strengthen our procedures.”
