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The MP for Bracknell has expressed horror at the sexual assault of a woman after a man gained access to her hotel room in a neighbouring town.
Kyran Smith, 29, of London Road, Staines, has been sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment for sexual assault at the Travelodge in Maidenhead.
He carried out the sexual offences on the woman after being given the key to her room by hotel staff.
MPs are now calling for urgent action to be taken to protect women and girls at the hotel chain.
Peter Swallow, the Labour MP for Bracknell, has signed a letter criticising how Travelodge handled the incident.
He said: “I was horrified to hear reports of a woman being sexually assaulted in a Travelodge in Maidenhead, after staff gave her attacker the key to her room.
“She was then offered £30 in compensation – a total insult.
Alongside almost 100 Labour Party colleagues, I’ve written to Travelodge’s CEO to call for urgent action.”
Smith was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on January 26.
The trial of Smith took place last November, with the sexual assault occurring in December 2022.
The letter states: “We are particularly concerned by reports that Travelodge staff provided Smith with both the victim’s room number and a key card after he falsely claimed to be her boyfriend.
“It appears this was done without verifying his claim or speaking to the victim herself to check whether she consented to him being given access to her room. Our understanding is that the victim had made a solo booking.
“Travelodge have since stated that this action was in line with existing security procedures. If this is the case, it raises deeply concerning questions about whether current policies provide sufficient safeguards for guests, particularly women travelling alone.
“In particular, the report that the victim was offered a £30 refund following such a traumatic and life-changing incident is extremely concerning. While Travelodge has acknowledged that the refund offer was mishandled and apologised to the victim, this response shows a profound lack of sensitivity and raises questions about staff training.
“A sexual assault is not an inconvenience – it is a serious crime with an enormous impact on the victim.
At the very least, this situation suggests that staff at the hotel in question and at Travelodge failed to protect her safety and privacy while a guest at the hotel.”
The letter then requests a meeting with Jo Boydell, CEO of Travelodge.
In a response to the letter by the MPs acquired by the BBC, a Travelodge spokesperson said: “The safety and security of our guests is our priority and we were deeply concerned to hear of this distressing incident and our sympathies are with the victim.
“We want to apologise to the victim for the way this incident has been handled.
“Travelodge adopts industry standard security procedures which were followed at the time of the incident in 2022.
“We will carry out a full review of our room security policies to learn from this incident and further strengthen our procedures.”
