Travelodge changes room key rules after woman’s room was accessed without her consent

Travelodge has overhauled how it issues room keys across all its hotels after a man was convicted of entering a woman’s occupied room at its Maidenhead branch — a case that has since drawn criticism from MPs and women’s safety groups.

Guests can now only have an additional or replacement key card issued with their explicit permission. Travelodge says it’s rolled out that change across every one of its hotels and trained 12,000 customer-facing staff as part of the update.

The change follows the conviction of Kyran Smith, who was given access to a woman’s room at a Travelodge in Maidenhead in December 2022 and later sentenced to seven years and seven months in prison after being found guilty of trespass with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence and sexual assault. Not an isolated case, either. A separate incident at a Travelodge in Newham, east London, saw a group of guests given keys to occupied rooms twice in a single week.

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield raised the issue publicly after a constituent told her they’d been affected. Her post cited the Women’s Rights Network, which has said women need to see a clear and tangible change in policy and training before trust in the chain can be restored.

Travelodge commissioned an independent review of its room-security practices and described the failures as unacceptable. But critics argue that voluntary changes by the company fall short — and that tougher industry-wide standards are needed.

For Kent residents who use Travelodge hotels, the practical upshot is simple: reception staff should now confirm your permission before handing a key to anyone else for your room. Whether that actually happens every time remains to be seen.

The chain hasn’t confirmed when the independent review will report its findings.

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Source: @RosieDuffield1

Published: 10 August 2026