Travelodge security policies were 'not fit for purpose', review finds as safety charity calls for industry-wide standards

From the Newshound archive · first published 1 October 2026 · last updated 3 October 2026.

An independent review by a barrister has found that room intrusions were reported at close to one in ten Travelodge hotels this summer, and that the chain had no policy covering violence against women and girls. Paul Greaney KC concluded that Travelodge's security policies at the time of a Maidenhead sexual assault were "not fit for purpose", after a woman was attacked in her bed in December 2022 by a man whose access was facilitated when a member of staff handed him a key card and told him her room number. Travelodge is now working with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which is urging the hospitality industry to adopt sector-wide safety standards as a matter of urgency. The review grew out of BBC reporting on the Maidenhead attack.

Wendy Griffith, a marketing consultant from Norfolk, spent an hour trapped in her Travelodge room while a man performed sex acts outside her door.

Griffith's attacker, Trevor Reece, 40, went to reception during the ordeal and was refused a key to her room only because a clerk noticed he had given the wrong number.