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A woman who encountered a naked man engaging in sexual acts outside her room at a Travelodge hotel described reading a security review about the incident as an “emotional read.” Wendy Griffith shared her experience alongside numerous others following a BBC investigation that brought to light a disturbing case from December 2022. In that incident, a female guest at the Travelodge in Maidenhead was sexually assaulted by a man who had been given her room number and a key card by hotel staff.
Griffith, a marketing consultant from Norfolk, was staying at the Travelodge London Stratford in July 2025 when she encountered similar distress. She reported that a man started banging on her door and was later seen performing sex acts through the peephole. Over the course of an hour, Griffith said she was engulfed by “rising panic” as she became “essentially trapped” and unsuccessfully tried several times to reach hotel staff for help. Lacking a room phone or an emergency contact number, she resorted to using her mobile phone to call the Travelodge website number. When that failed, she dialed 999. The man, Trevor Reece, aged 40, subsequently pleaded guilty to outraging public decency in September 2025 and was sentenced to four months of alcohol dependency treatment, along with paying court costs and compensation to Griffith, though she stated the compensation has not yet been received.
A deeper review of Travelodge’s security was conducted by barrister Paul Greaney KC, revealing several concerning findings. Room intrusions had been reported in nearly 10% of Travelodge locations during that summer, and glaringly, no formal policy addressing violence against women and girls was in place. Travelodge’s interim CEO, Ray Reidy, informed the BBC that the company is collaborating with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust—a personal safety charity—to develop such a policy. This step follows Griffith’s discovery that the perpetrator had, during a pause in his harassment, visited the hotel reception and requested a replacement room key, which was mistakenly issued with her room number.
Experts in travel and women’s security have commented on the wider implications. Carolyn Pearson, CEO of travel security firm Maiden Voyage, criticized the handing over of room keys to individuals claiming to be a guest’s partner as a basic yet widespread failure in the hospitality industry. She emphasized that this is not an issue unique to Travelodge, adding that hotels should never confirm a person’s guest status to outsiders. Similarly, Dawn Brennan, CEO of the women’s safety organization Wise Women, stressed that access to hotel rooms should be strictly controlled and linked to verified registration and ID. Brennan also advocated for heightened policies when partners request access without keys, underscoring the importance of protecting women’s safety.
Griffith reflected on how her experience has changed her outlook as a frequent solo traveler, saying she now views travel, and particularly hotel security, in a very different light. She has launched a petition urging the government to establish minimum safety and guest security standards across UK hotels, highlighting what she sees as an industry-wide problem. Under current law, hotel management holds primary responsibility for guest safety, with individual hotels expected to enforce their own policies. Griffith remains determined, stating, “What has kept me speaking up about this is the fact that so many people have been affected, in particular women, and something positive has to come from these incidences.” She insists that a locked hotel room “should mean exactly that. Locked, safe, yours,” and hopes the lessons from the review will foster clear, nationwide standards throughout the hotel sector
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