Travelodge Orders Independent Review After 3 Room-Key Breaches Expose Guests to Attack
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 10
Travelodge Orders Independent Review After 3 Room-Key Breaches Expose Guests to Attack
1 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 10
Summary
Travelodge said it has commissioned a barrister-led independent review after multiple cases in which staff gave room keys to unauthorized people, including one that let an abuser reach Lucy in October 2025.
Lucy told BBC Breakfast reception staff handed her abuser a key after he claimed she was having a seizure; he later attacked her, returned, and kicked her door off its hinges.
Travelodge said its policy never to confirm a guest's stay to third parties was not followed in Lucy's case, and that updated room-access rules were also breached in another incident involving guest Jo from Leeds.
Andy Smith, a frequent Travelodge customer, said he was recently given a key to an occupied room and described another case about 18 months earlier when a stranger accessed his room by using the common surname Smith.
UKHospitality called the incidents extremely serious and said it is preparing sector-wide guest-security guidance, while Lucy said the attack left her unable to stay in hotels.