Update: PM joins calls to address ‘appalling’ assault at Maidenhead Travelodge

The Prime Minister has joined calls for Travelodge to ‘take serious action’ to ensure there is no repeat of an ‘appalling’ sexual assault which took place at its Maidenhead branch.

Kyran Smith, 29, of London Road in Staines, sexually assaulted a woman in her bed while she was staying at the Travelodge, in King Street, in December 2022.

Smith and the victim, a woman in her 30s, were both at a party, which they left to go to the hotel that night.

After she retired to her room at about 2am, Smith conned the hotel reception into giving him a key to the victim’s room and sneaked into her room.

Smith was jailed for seven years and six months after a court hearing at Reading Crown Court on January 23.

Thames Valley Police said the 29-year-old used ‘deception’ to obtain the victim’s room key.

This led to questions about whether staff should have known better than to hand it over.

On Friday (March 6), a letter signed by dozens of MPs was sent to Travelodge’s chief executive, requesting a meeting to discuss hotel safety.

It was written by Matt Bishop, MP for Forest of Dean, and Jen Craft, MP for Thurrock.

They wrote that the details of how the victim’s room was accessed ‘raise serious questions’ about hotel security procedures and the adequacy of the response from Travelodge.

Travelodge had stated the hotel’s action was ‘in line with existing security procedures’, the letter continues.

If so, this raises ‘deeply concerning questions’ about whether current policies provide sufficient safeguards for guests, ‘particularly women travelling alone’, the MPs feel.

As well as concerns over the lack of safety awareness for guests, there have also been criticisms over the way the hotel handled matters when the woman told them what happened.

The BBC reported that Travelodge offered the victim a £30 refund, which she said was ‘insulting.’

Travelodge has since admitted the £30 refund offer was inappropriate.

The letter from the MPs calls this ‘a deeply insulting gesture which fails to grasp the enormity of what she experienced’.

“At the very least, the victim is owed a clear apology and an acknowledgement that Travelodge failed to protect her safety and privacy while she stayed at the hotel,” the letter says.

MPs wish to know what steps have been taken to make sure incidents like this ‘cannot occur again’.

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MPs would like to know about Travelodge’s security policies and procedures, its safeguarding training, and any training relating to Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

“Guests must be able to trust that when they check into a room – particularly when travelling alone – their privacy and safety will be protected,” the letter concludes.

“This case raises important questions not only for Travelodge but for the wider hospitality sector.”

On Wednesday, during Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer called the case ‘absolutely shocking’ and said the victim was ‘failed in the most appalling way.’

“Travelodge must take serious action to ensure such an appalling incident can never happen again,” he said.

Maidenhead MP Joshua Reynolds said: “My thoughts are with the victim of this truly appalling case. It raises serious questions about the safety and security measures that were in place, and how it led to such a catastrophic error.

“Travelodge must urgently come forward and demonstrate that changes have been made to ensure this never happens again.

“Hotels have a duty to ensure that all travellers, but particularly women, feel safe in the knowledge that security is taken incredibly seriously.”

The Advertiser understands that chief executive Jo Boydell has since agreed to meet with MPs.

“I am deeply sorry for the significant distress experienced by the victim,” she said in a statement.

“We have apologised to her for the way the incident has been handled and have invited her to meet with us to discuss how we can further improve our procedures.

“I am committing to an independent review of our room security policies to learn from this incident.”

“Our guests deserve to be reassured that their safety and security is of the utmost importance to us.”

In a letter responding to Mr Reynolds yesterday (Thursday), she said that Travelodge is ‘taking immediate actions’ to strengthen its security and key card policies.

It is rolling out training to all hotel staff and customer service teams ‘over the next few days’, she wrote.

Ms Boydell added that she has ‘committed to an independent review’ of Travelodge’s room security policies, ‘to learn more from this incident.’