Travelodge change security policy after outrage

Travelodge has finally mandated ID checks for all replacement room keys this week. The policy change comes after widespread outrage over over the sexual assault of a solo female guest. As the Canary reported previously:

a woman was sexually assaulted after making a solo booking at the hotel – only for staff to give her attacker a key to her room. The perpetrator of the sexual assault, Kyran Smith, told staff he was her boyfriend and needed another key card. Despite not being present on the booking, the hotel gave him that key which enabled his abuse.

The budget hotel chain only implemented the security overhaul after a survivor and 100 MPs shamed the brand for its safeguarding failures.

Travelodge put profit before basic safety

Smith is now serving 7.5 years in prison, but is that really the end of the story? No, not when the hotel’s role in this assault remains a point of national outrage:

The company’s new policy finally requires staff to verify the identity of anyone asking for a room key. This is either going to be through the booking reference, or through direct contact with the person within the room. Travelodge have also claimed to have “intensified” staff training on safeguarding processes across their UK hotels. But we need to ask why it took a life-changing trauma and a fucking PR nightmare for a huge corporation to implement the most basic level of security? Guest safety should be a fundamental right, not a reactive damage-control measure.

The measly cost of human trauma

Travelodge’s initial response to this fuck up was a measly £30 voucher offered to the survivor. Literally just a refund on the cost of staying the evening. That’s it. They treated a brutal sexual assault like a minor customer service complaint, or a shitty cold breakfast. The company since admitted this offer was “inappropriate” and guest safety is now their “priority”.

How the hell was it not before? If safety were a priority, they would never have facilitated the invasion of what should have been a private room.

Over 100 MPs co-signed a letter to the CEO demanding immediate accountability. Anneliese Midgley said the chain played an “intrinsic role” in the abuse. The survivor herself has been the driving force for these changes stating:

I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. It’s not just about me, it’s about making sure hotels are safe for everyone.

Corporate greed consistently prioritises the ease of check-in over human life. A shitty £30 voucher shows exactly how the corporation quantifies the trauma of women. It reflects a disgusting culture where corporate liability and profit margins matter more than people. They only move when the political and public pressure becomes a threat to their profit margins.

Industry standards are no excuse for rape

Travelodge initially tried to hide behind the claim this it followed ‘industry standard security procedures’. This suggests the entire budget hotel industry is currently failing to protect women. All of them. We cannot allow “standard procedure” to be used as an excuse for corporate negligence. Travelodge’s chief executive Jo Boyden stated on:

We have done an internal review of our room access security policies and have made some immediate changes to ensure that an additional or replacement room key is only issued with explicit permission from the person, or people, staying in the room.

This has been rolled out to all of our hotels, supported by training for our 12,000 customer-facing colleagues.

The CEO went on to say that safety of guests was the most important thing and that the company has commissioned an independent review of its room security measures. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons called this case a “stark reminder” that criminals exploit “weaknesses in hotel security”.

As the Canary reported, sexual offenses increased 511% in the last 20 years. In 2024 alone 71,227 rapes were recorded by police and yet only 2.7% of them resulted in charge.  Politicians are right to demand total transparency from the board regarding these new training modules. We need to see a complete overhaul of how hotel security functions. Now.

Women should not have to live in fear for their lives in a room they have paid for. The fact a man can simply lay claim to a woman’s personal space is sickening.

Will Travelodge actually change it’s internal culture, or is this more corporate window dressing? We will not feel safe until we see these policies enforced by law across the entire sector.

Featured image via Travelodge.com