Kyran Smith, 29, told reception he was the victim's boyfriend and was given her key card and her room number in the early hours of the morning
Share
A woman was sexually assaulted in her hotel bed after Travelodge staff gave her attacker a key card for the room.
Kyran Smith, 29, told reception he was the victim's boyfriend and was given her key card and her room number in the early hours of the morning.
This allowed him to enter her room and sexually assault her while she was asleep.
The victim, who is now in her 30s and cannot be named for legal reasons, was offered a £30 refund when she reported the attack to staff the next morning.
Smith, from Staines, was jailed for seven years and six months for trespass with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence and sexual assault on January 23.
He had been at the same party as his victim earlier that night in December 2022 and had booked a different room at the hotel.
Travelodge has apologised to the victim for the "way this incident has been handled" and told LBC that the £30 refund offered was "inappropriate".
The woman – who had never stayed in a hotel on her own before – said she awoke to Smith carrying out his sexual assault in her bed and she shouted at him to get out.
He then put his clothes on, returned the key to reception and went back to his own room.
The victim called the £30 refund "very insulting" and called on Travelodge to change their security measures.
“It’s not protecting people staying in hotels if you can just access by saying things to reception – that’s not OK,” she said.
The victim said she had taken all the necessary safety measures for staying in a hotel, such as double checking the lock on the door.
“I feel like they failed me, it makes me more frustrated that they haven’t said, ‘OK yes we did this wrong’. Instead they’ve put the blame aside," she added.
Following the sentencing, Investigating Officer Detective Constable Arshid Ali said: "I welcome the sentencing which reflects the seriousness of the offence and the dangerous nature of the defendant.
"Thames Valley Police treat all sexual offences with the utmost seriousness, particularly those committed against women, which fall within the national framework of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
"Our officers are committed to investigating these crimes thoroughly, supporting victims throughout the criminal justice process and working with partner agencies to reduce offending.
"We will continue to prioritise the identification, arrest and prosecution of those who commit sexual violence."
A Travelodge spokesperson said: "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."
