A woman says a Travelodge receptionist gave her domestic abuser a key to the room where she was staying in London, and he then attacked her. The woman, who is not named, tells the BBC she had booked the hotel for a “night away from the fear” after a period of abuse at home. She says the man followed her to the room and was handed access by staff.
She reports that the attacker told reception his “girlfriend” was upstairs having a seizure, asked which room she was in and what floor she was on, and was then directed to her. After the initial assault, she says he later returned and kicked the door “off its hinges.” She adds that when she went to reception for help, she was offered another room and staff did not call police or seek medical attention.
Travelodge says it is “deeply sorry” for the distress and acknowledges that room access security policies at the time were not correctly followed. The company says it has since changed its room access security and incident escalation procedures, including requiring explicit permission from guests before replacement or additional keys are issued. Some outlets also reference the sentencing of Kyran Smith over an earlier Travelodge attack, while reporting accompanying calls for accountability from an MP.
