Travelodge chief executive Jo Boydell resigns after key card assault scandal
Jo Boydell has quit as Travelodge CEO after a series of incidents in which staff handed key cards to unauthorised people, including a sexual assault.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Travelodge chief executive Jo Boydell has resigned, the company confirmed, after weeks of mounting pressure over safety failures that allowed guests to be given key cards to rooms without proper checks. The resignation comes after a series of incidents, the most serious being the sexual assault of a woman at a Travelodge in Maidenhead in 2022.
The Maidenhead case first came to light in a BBC investigation. A man, Kyron Smith, lied to reception staff, claiming he was the woman's boyfriend, and was handed a key card to her room. He then sexually assaulted her. Smith was jailed for seven and a half years in February for trespass and sexual assault. The hotel initially said it had followed procedure, and the victim was offered a £30 refund. Her attacker's conviction led to renewed scrutiny of the chain's security protocols.
In March, Ms Boydell apologised publicly. "I genuinely apologise to the victim for what happened to her and the way that we handled her case subsequently," she said in a BBC interview. But further incidents soon emerged. A domestic violence victim, identified as Lucy, told the BBC how her abusive boyfriend was given a key to her room at a Travelodge near London after lying to staff. Another woman, Jo, described waking up to find a man standing between her bed and her friend's after reception staff gave him a key. Travelodge said these incidents were "very rare" but should never have happened.
The MP for the area where Travelodge is headquartered, Freddie Van Mierlo, called for Ms Boydell to step down. "I don't think the changes that have taken place to date have been sufficient," he said. "There needs to be a change at the top because ultimately culture and safety needs to come from the very top of the company." He welcomed her resignation when it was announced.
Travelodge said Ms Boydell had stepped down three days before the announcement and had been replaced temporarily by the chief financial officer. The company's chairman thanked her for her dedication over 13 years, but did not mention the criticism she had faced. In a statement, Travelodge said: "The safety and security of customers in our hotels is extremely important, and we want everyone to be safe and feel safe in our hotels." The firm said it had acted quickly, partnering with a leading violence against women and girls expert and introducing a new room access security policy across all 600 hotels. Keys can now only be handed out if there has been explicit permission from the guest staying in the room.
An independent review into the company's security procedures is under way. Critics, including Mr Van Mierlo, argue that deeper changes to the company's low-cost business model are needed to ensure guest safety is never compromised again.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | ITV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A man was sentenced for sexually assaulting a woman at a Travelodge in Maidenhead, and Travelodge later said it was looking to improve room security. | · | · | ||
| The victim was offered a £30 refund. | · | · | ||
| Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell stepped down three days before a related announcement. | · | · | ||
| Travelodge introduced a new room access security policy requiring explicit permission from the guest before issuing keys. | · | · | ||
| Travelodge said it had undertaken a company-wide retraining programme and commissioned an independent review. | · | · | ||
| Travelodge said the incidents are rare but should never happen and that it has updated its security policies. | · | · | ||
| Travelodge staff gave a key to a woman's room to her abusive boyfriend, who then attacked her. | · | · | ||
| Several people told the BBC that strangers were wrongly given keys to their rooms at Travelodge. | · | · | · | |
| The MP for the area where Travelodge is based called for the CEO to resign. | · | · | · | |
| The resignation statement did not address the criticism. | · | · | · | |
| The victim and the then Prime Minister criticised Boydell's handling of the incident. | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC One West gave extensive coverage across several bulletins, first highlighting the victim accounts and the MP's call for the CEO to resign, then reporting the resignation itself. Its reporting focused on the human impact of the incidents and the criticism of Travelodge's business model.
- “What's wrong is the business model. It's made far too many cuts, deep cuts, to the company in order to have a low-cost model.”
- “Hotels need safeguarding procedures. One mistake can cause devastating consequences.”
- “Travelodge says keys can now only be handed out if there has been explicit permission from the guest staying in the room.”
BBC News (across its signed bulletins) provided detailed reporting on the original Maidenhead case, the subsequent incidents, and the resignation. It included a warning about distressing content and gave prominence to the victim's own words and the company's apology.
- “And without checking, without asking, or questioning him in any way, or even escorting him to my room, she just gave him my room number and a key.”
- “I genuinely apologise to the victim for what happened to her and the way that we handled her case subsequently.”
- “Travelodge says keys can now only be handed out if there has been explicit permission from the guest staying in the room.”
ITV focused on the resignation announcement itself, noting that no reason was given for her departure, and reported from the Maidenhead hotel where the original assault took place. Its tone was critical of the company's handling, describing the challenge as a "lot of rebuilding to do."
- “Jo Boydell stood down as CEO three days ago and has been replaced temporarily by their chief financial officer until they find a new boss.”
- “No mention of any reason for her departure, only really a passing reference to some of the criticism she's had over the last few months.”
- “Travelodge now has a temporary CEO but the company, a little bit like the hotel you see behind me, has got a lot of rebuilding to do.”
5 News provided a concise recap of the scandal, emphasising the £30 refund offered to the Maidenhead victim, the involvement of the former Prime Minister, and the fact that the resignation statement did not address the criticism. Its tone was straightforward and critical.
- “Now as an apology the woman was offered a 30 pound refund”
- “It mentions that she has been in the post for 13 years, but at no point does it address the criticism.”
- “Travelodge says it is conducting an independent review but it will be hoping it can draw a line under this whole affair.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.