MAIDENHEAD, ENGLAND – A 2022 sexual assault case out of the United Kingdom that occurred at a Travelodge hotel is garnering renewed scrutiny following the sentencing of the perpetrator this past January, as the convicted rapist gained access to the victim’s room via hotel staff giving him a room key.
On January 23rd, 29-year-old Kyran Smith was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for the December 2022 rape of a woman staying at a Travelodge hotel in Maidenhead. According to authorities, Smith had approached hotel staff during the early morning hours of the incident, claiming he was the victim’s boyfriend and requested a key to the room.
Apparently, Smith and the victim had both been at the same party prior to the victim returning to her room, which all Smith had to do was give hotel staff the victim’s name in order to satisfy the hotel’s “security checks” to obtain a room key, according to reports.
Initially following the sexual assault that was facilitated in pat by Travelodge staff’s lacking security protocols, the company offered the victim a $40 refund, which the victim later called “insulting” in subsequent interviews. Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell later told the BBC regarding the incident, “I'm so sorry this happened to her, I'm so sorry it happened in our hotel, and I am so sorry for the way we handled it afterwards.”
The 2022 incident and the ensuing media scrutiny has sparked a broader internal investigation within Travelodge, with Boydell claiming via a news release shared on the company’s website that “immediate changes to our room access security policy” have been implemented.
Among the “immediate changes” cited in the updated security policy is directly inspired by the failings of the December 2022 incident in Maidenhead, as Travelodge will now only issue additional and/or replacement room keys in instances where they’ve obtained “explicit permission from the person (or people) staying in the room.”
On January 23rd, 29-year-old Kyran Smith was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for the December 2022 rape of a woman staying at a Travelodge hotel in Maidenhead. According to authorities, Smith had approached hotel staff during the early morning hours of the incident, claiming he was the victim’s boyfriend and requested a key to the room.
Apparently, Smith and the victim had both been at the same party prior to the victim returning to her room, which all Smith had to do was give hotel staff the victim’s name in order to satisfy the hotel’s “security checks” to obtain a room key, according to reports.
Initially following the sexual assault that was facilitated in pat by Travelodge staff’s lacking security protocols, the company offered the victim a $40 refund, which the victim later called “insulting” in subsequent interviews. Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell later told the BBC regarding the incident, “I'm so sorry this happened to her, I'm so sorry it happened in our hotel, and I am so sorry for the way we handled it afterwards.”
The 2022 incident and the ensuing media scrutiny has sparked a broader internal investigation within Travelodge, with Boydell claiming via a news release shared on the company’s website that “immediate changes to our room access security policy” have been implemented.
Among the “immediate changes” cited in the updated security policy is directly inspired by the failings of the December 2022 incident in Maidenhead, as Travelodge will now only issue additional and/or replacement room keys in instances where they’ve obtained “explicit permission from the person (or people) staying in the room.”
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