Travelodge attack 'not isolated incident', MP says

An MP has expressed concern that the attack on a woman at Travelodge is not "an isolated incident".

Lucy, a domestic abuse victim, told BBC Breakfast she was staying at a Travelodge in London in October 2025 for "a night away from the fear" after her abuser kicked the hotel room door off its hinges.

The Oxfordshire-based hotel chain said that while incidents like this were "very rare", customer safety and security was, and remained, a priority with staff undergoing recent training.

Speaking to BBC 5Live, Lib Dem MP for Henley and Thame Freddie van Mierlo said he was not confident that was enough to cover gaps in security as "there have been further cases since".

Lucy said it had been one of the "most traumatic nights of my life".

She said she had ran downstairs "shaking, crying and begging for help" but had been offered another room in the hotel instead.

She contacted the BBC after hearing about Kyran Smith's sentencing.

In February Smith was jailed for seven-and-a-half years following the sexual assault at a Travelodge in Maidenhead, Berkshire, in December 2022, where he had obtained the key card to the victim's room from a member of staff.

Lucy's attacker also had lied to staff to get the key card to her room, triggering an independent review of security measures at the chain.

Lucy said she had ran downstairs "shaking, crying and begging for help" but had been offered another room in the hotel instead.

van Mierlo, in whose constituency the hotel chain headquarters is based,said the company "really needs to get its act together now".

"We now have a series of very serious cases where individuals have had their rooms accessed by others, ranging from very serious devastating consequences to mix ups, which in themselves can be quite disturbing, very disturbing for those people."

Travelodge said an investigation had found "our updated room access security policies, which were in place at the time, were not correctly followed, which is not acceptable".

"We have retrained the hotel team on our current room security and check-in procedures."

But van Mierlo said "there have been further cases since those supposed changes took place".

"I don't think the problems can be fixed by simply sending out an email or issuing a new training edict saying 'You now need to do this and that instead of issuing a key'.

"I'm really concerned that this goes to the core of the business and the business model that cuts have been made too deep to staffing, to the way the hotel is run, that needs to be addressed."

In July, van Mierlo wrote to the hotel chain's chief executive Jo Boydell and the chair of a review into its safety, questioning if cost-saving measures had been prioritised over customer safety.

The MP said he was "disappointed" that Boydell had not turned up for a meeting with him and other MPs in March.

Boydell previously admitted the hotel chain's handling of the case had fallen short, apologised to the victim and said the reports of other incidents were being investigated.

Travelodge said that "customer safety and security is and remains a priority for us".

"Earlier this year, we commissioned an independent review led by Paul Greaney KC, a leading barrister specialising in public inquiries concerning security, serious violent crime, health and safety.

"We've commissioned him to examine our room access security policies and escalation procedures."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line.