Travelodge strengthens room access security policies after sex assault
Travelodge Group said it had strengthened room access security policies and incident escalation procedures after a female guest was sexually assaulted at one of its hotels.
Travelodge also said that it was “working at pace” on a further internal review of its room access security processes and training, and is being advised by a leading Violence Against Women and Girls expert.
In March, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urged the budget hotel chain to “seriously engage” with the Government.
Sir Keir wrote to the company’s boss, Jo Boydell, saying he was “very concerned” after she reportedly cancelled a meeting with MPs about an “utterly appalling” sexual assault at one of the chain’s hotels.
At the time, Ms Boydell said that MPs interested in the issue can feed into the review led by barrister Paul Greaney KC, which is examining room security procedures and how the incident was handled.
A guest at a Travelodge in Maidenhead, Berkshire, was sexually assaulted by a man who had been given a key card to her room by the hotel’s reception. He had lied to reception staff, telling them he was the victim’s boyfriend.
In a statement to accompany its first quarter trading update, Travelodge said: “The safety and security of customers in our hotels is extremely important and we want everyone to be safe, and feel safe, in our hotels.
“We are deeply sorry for the distress experienced by the victim and for our handling of her case following a serious incident in our Maidenhead hotel in 2022, and the sentencing of the perpetrator in February 2026.
“We have recently made changes to strengthen our room access security policies and incident escalation procedures.
“These changes have been rolled out to all of our hotels, supported by enhanced training for our 12,000 customer-facing colleagues.
“We are working at pace on a further internal review of our room access security processes and training, as part of which we are working with a leading Violence Against Women and Girls expert.
“We have also commissioned an independent review led by Paul Greaney KC, a leading barrister specialising in public inquiries concerning security, serious violent crime, and health and safety, to examine our room access security policies and escalation procedures.
“Following the conclusion of the independent review later this summer, we will review the recommendations and determine any further actions we need to take.”
Travelodge reported first quarter revenue of £206.8 million, which was above the £198.4 million recorded in the same period a year earlier, which it said was supported by continued investment and a strong performance in Spain.
The group said it delivered a solid performance across London and the UK regions. Travelodge said its strongest performance was driven by leisure demand.
The statement added: “We delivered good growth in food and beverage revenue, with a seven per cent increase in the UK compared to 2025, benefitting from our 85 Bar Café upgrades, back-office system and menu upgrades and the contribution from new and maturing hotels.”
So far in the second quarter, Travelodge said it had seen solid demand across its broad range of business and leisure customers and “there are encouraging long-lead booking patterns, supported by the strong event programme for the year ahead, with booked revenue levels ahead of 2025 levels”.