Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 4
Travelodge Key Card Error Lets Shirtless Man Into Dundee Room, Prompting £100 Voucher
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 4

Travelodge Key Card Error Lets Shirtless Man Into Dundee Room, Prompting £100 Voucher

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 4

Summary

  • Around 02:00 on 11 July, Kim Hutchison, 60, woke in a Dundee Travelodge to find a shirtless man standing at the foot of her bed after he was given access to room 313.
  • The man insisted room 316 was his, and Travelodge later said updated room-access security policies were not correctly followed, allowing him into the couple’s room for about a minute.
  • Harry Grieve said reception was unattended when he went downstairs for answers; police attended the hotel over another disturbance around the same time, and no arrests were made.
  • Travelodge refunded the room, offered a £100 voucher and said it retrained staff at the Dundee Strathmore Avenue hotel, while its wider safety review remains ongoing.
  • The case adds to a series of BBC-reported room-access failures at Travelodge, including a Maidenhead incident in which a man was later jailed for sexually assaulting a guest.

Insights

Are corporate cost-cutting measures and low staffing turning budget hotel rooms into dangerous traps for unsuspecting guests?
Could biometric locks and smartphone access tokens completely eliminate the terrifying risk of human error at hotel check-ins?