Travelodge staff gave domestic abuser key to his victim's room

Jo from Leeds contacted BBC News concerning the Maidenhead attack. In July she woke in her room to an unknown man lingering at the foot of her bed and screamed for help. "It was conscionable horrible, it was horrendous. Terrifying. I was shaking truthful badly," she said. Her friend, who was also staying in the room, heard the intruder say, "I'm sorry, they gave maine this key," she said. Jo said she had considered alternative accommodation after reports of the 2022 assault but was reassured by Travelodge’s head of enforcement Jo Boydell, who had previously stated: "The information and information of customers successful our hotels is highly important and we privation everyone to beryllium safe, and consciousness safe, successful our hotels." Jo added: "What happened to america shouldn't person happened. And the assurances [Travelodge] gave are not accurate. The systems are failing." Travelodge responded that an investigation found "our updated country entree information policies, which were successful spot astatine the time, were not correctly followed, which is not acceptable." The company said it had "retrained the edifice squad connected our existent country information and check-in procedures." Andy Smith, a regular Travelodge guest who stays in dozens of the chain’s hotels each year, said he had recently been issued keys to other occupants’ rooms. "On Friday, we went up to the country and determination was a feline already dormant successful determination successful a authorities of undress," he said. He recalled a comparable incident roughly 18 months earlier when another man accessed his room by informing reception staff he was checking in under a common name such as "Mr Smith". "I deliberation helium conscionable chanced it. Because my name's Smith, I deliberation it's conscionable the axenic luck of it. I mean, wherefore wouldn't anyone beryllium asking for ID oregon anything, similar a booking notation oregon an email address. It's beggar's belief." Travelodge replied that "any lawsuit of an unauthorised idiosyncratic entering a guest's country is simply a important origin for interest and we privation to beryllium wide that these incidents should not person happened".