A domestic violence survivor has described how she endured one of the most "traumatic nights" of her life after reception staff at a Travelodge handed her abuser a key to her hotel room.
The woman, who cannot be named, told the BBC she had been staying at a Travelodge in London last October when she was assaulted in her room. Her attacker was reportedly given access by staff at reception.
Survivor's Account
The woman said she had reserved a room seeking a "night away from the fear" following a sustained period of abuse. Describing her abuser's actions, she said: "He walked into the hotel and told the receptionist that his girlfriend was upstairs having a seizure. He asked what room I was in and what floor I was staying on."
Staff provided him with a key and showed him to her room, she explained. Once he gained entry, he launched a physical assault and attempted to seize her phone.
She persuaded him to leave, but he returned and became increasingly violent. "Not long afterwards, I heard him knocking at the door. He was banging, shouting. He was just getting more and more aggressive," she said. "I was terrified. I was hoping that he was going to stop, but instead, he kicked the hotel room door completely off the hinges."
Reception Response Criticised
The woman described heading downstairs "shaking" and "begging for help" following the ordeal. She said: "I think the receptionist just panicked. She didn't call the police. She didn't check if I needed any medical attention. She didn't ask if there were any family members I could call, anyone that I needed. She just offered me a room, another room in the hotel."
Travelodge Apologises
In response, a Travelodge spokesperson said: "We are deeply sorry for the significant distress experienced by the customer and we apologise for the way the incident has been handled. Customer safety and security is – and remains – a priority for us. Any case of an unauthorised person entering a guest's room is a significant cause for concern and we want to be clear that this should not have happened. Our room access security policies at the time were not correctly followed, which is not acceptable."
The spokesperson added: "Earlier this year, we made changes to strengthen our room access security policy and incident escalation procedures, supported by training for all of our customer-facing colleagues."
Calls for Accountability
The Press Association understands that the individual provided the guest's full name and room number at the reception desk. Travelodge chief executive Jo Boydell previously stated that immediate changes were implemented to the company's room access security policy following the sentencing of Kyran Smith, who attacked a woman at a Travelodge in Maidenhead in December 2022 under similar circumstances. Smith received a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence in February.
However, Freddie van Mierlo, MP for Thame, Oxfordshire, where the chain's headquarters is located, argued the changes have fallen short and urged Ms Boydell to resign. He told BBC Breakfast that Travelodge cannot thrive if it cannot "get to grips with the most basic of responsibilities", emphasising the need for "wholesale deep changes" to its operational practices.
Mr van Mierlo said: "If a company is failing in its most basic duty to look after the safety of its guests, and we've heard the most horrific cases come forward, undermining the trust in the hotel industry, we've seen women, people feeling unable to stay in a hotel into the future, I think that does require accountability."
He added: "I don't think the changes that have taken place to date have been sufficient, that's evident, and that's why I think there needs to be a change at the top, because, ultimately, culture and safety needs to come from the very top of the company."
Under the revised measures, explicit consent is now required from guests before any additional or replacement keys are provided for their room. This reinforces Travelodge's existing policy of never confirming to third parties that a guest is staying at one of its properties.
