Guest says Travelodge security review was ‘quite emotional to read’

Paul Greaney KC, who conducted the review for Travelodge, said the company had “fundamentally failed” the woman, identified in his report as Lily, after she was sexually assaulted at its Maidenhead hotel in December 2022. He found that its room-key procedures at the time were not fit to keep guests safe. [1]

Kyran Smith falsely told a receptionist he was Lily’s boyfriend and obtained a key to her room in less than three minutes, the review found. The receptionist had received no training in key security. Smith was later convicted of sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence. [1]

Greaney also called Travelodge’s handling of Lily’s written complaint “appalling”. Her January 2023 email was addressed to the then chief executive, Jo Boydell, among others, but Greaney concluded that it did not reach Boydell personally until March 2026. The company assigned the investigation to a hotel employee whom the complaint itself criticised. [1]

New policy, continuing lapses

Greaney said Travelodge’s revised key policy could prevent a similar incident if followed, but covert tests found gaps in its application. At all five hotels tested, housekeeping staff allowed access to a room without proof that the person was entitled to enter. Receptionists at three of the five confirmed that a guest was staying there, contrary to training. He found the company’s current serious-incident and complaint policies fit for purpose, while warning that more work was needed to put them into practice. [1]

In the four weeks before 6 August, guests reported unauthorised room entry at nearly one in ten Travelodge hotels, the review said. That category includes entry by staff or a guest given the wrong key, as well as entry by a hostile person. [1]

Travelodge apologised to Lily and to other guests affected by failures in room security or complaint handling. It says replacement or additional keys now require the room occupant’s explicit permission and that the policy has been rolled out across more than 600 hotels. [2]