Woman assaulted after Travelodge staff gave room key to her abuser
Woman had gone to London hotel for ‘night away from the fear’ in latest incident of chain giving keys to men without checking Travelodge staff gave a room key to the domestic abuser of a woman, who then physically attacked her. The woman, who is remaining anonymous, told the BBC she was staying in a branch of the hotel in London to escape the man, but he followed her and was given a key by the…
A woman staying at a London Travelodge hotel for a "night away from fear" was assaulted by her abuser after the hotel staff gave him her room key without verifying her identity. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC that the abuser had followed her from their home to the hotel and was allowed access to her room by reception staff.
She described the incident as "sickening" and felt that her safe place had vanished when her abuser broke into her room. Travelodge has acknowledged that such occurrences are "very rare" and that customer safety is their top priority. The hotel chain has faced criticism for its practices of providing room keys to men without confirming the woman's consent.
The abuser had previously been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman at a different Travelodge in 2022 after being given her room key by staff who did not check with her first. In response to the latest incident, Travelodge commissioned an independent review of its room access security policies and procedures.
The hotel chain has apologized for the distress caused and stated that any unauthorized entry into a guest's room is a "significant cause for concern."
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