Travelodge offers woman 'insulting' £30 refund after staff gave sex attacker a key to her room

The 29-year-old from Staines was subsequently sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for the attack.

Following the incident, Travelodge offered the woman a £30 refund, which she described as "very insulting".

The hotel chain has acknowledged the refund offer was inappropriate but maintains its employees adhered to proper security protocols.

The victim, now in her 30s, said: "I feel like they failed me."

Smith had attended the same party as the woman earlier that evening before she retired to her room alone around 2am. It was her first time staying in a hotel by herself.

In the early hours, Smith approached reception and deceived staff into providing him with a duplicate key card and her room number.

The victim said staff informed her that Smith had satisfied their security checks simply by knowing her name.

"The only thing he would know about me was my name," she told the BBC. "They said he was able to show them text messages, but I didn't have his phone number and he didn't have mine."

She questioned why staff would permit someone access to a single-occupancy booking without first contacting the guest.

"At least wake me up or phone the room or come up to the room. Anything is better than just giving someone a key card," she said.

The woman reported the assault to hotel staff the following morning, after which she was offered a £30 refund.

"I saw it as very insulting," she said. "It would have been better if they hadn't offered it."

Travelodge has since conceded the offer was inappropriate given the circumstances.

The victim expressed frustration that the company refused to accept any responsibility for what happened.

"It makes me more frustrated that they haven't said, 'OK yes we did this wrong'," she said. "Instead they've put the blame aside."

She argued allowing access to rooms based solely on information given at reception does not adequately protect guests.

"It's not protecting people staying in hotels if you can just access by saying things to reception – that's not OK," she added.

Smith was convicted of sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence after a four-day trial at Reading Crown Court in November 2025.

He received his sentence on January 23 this year.

After carrying out the assault while the victim slept, Smith dressed and left the room, returning the key card before going back to his own accommodation.

Travelodge declined to disclose the specific security measures in place but insisted procedures were followed correctly at the time.

In a statement, the company 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."

The victim has called on Travelodge to review its policies to prevent similar incidents.

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter