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A woman who was sexually assaulted in her hotel room has expressed feeling let down by Travelodge after hotel staff gave a stranger access to her room by handing him a key card and revealing her room number. The man, Kyran Smith, had been seen earlier that night at a party with the woman and others. After the group retired to their rooms at the Maidenhead Travelodge in December 2022, Smith approached reception in the early hours and falsely claimed to be the woman’s boyfriend, convincing staff to issue him a key card.
Smith was subsequently sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence during a four-day trial at Reading Crown Court. Despite the severity of the incident, Travelodge initially offered the victim a £30 refund, which she described as “insulting.” The company later apologized for the handling of the refund but maintained that its staff had followed security protocols at the time.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons and is now in her 30s, said this was her first experience staying alone in a hotel. She recounted how staff informed her that Smith had passed their security checks based on providing her name and supposedly showing text messages, even though neither exchanged phone numbers. “If I checked-in on my own and the room booking is just for me why would you think it’s OK to let someone in in the middle of the night while I’m asleep?” she said, expressing frustration that the hotel did not take further steps to confirm Smith’s identity or alert her.
Calling for a change in security procedures, the woman criticized the hotel for shifting blame instead of acknowledging mistakes. “The anger was probably after – a couple of weeks later – when they were telling me that they didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. Travelodge declined to detail its security measures but stated its staff followed the correct procedures on the night. In a statement, the company emphasized that guest safety is their priority and expressed sympathy for the victim, adding they are committed to staff training on approved policies
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