Skip to the story
All StoriesPoliticsConflict & SecurityBusiness & EconomyScience & TechHealthClimateMedia
All stories
Business & Economy8 outlets ran this4 min read

Travelodge staff gave abuser key to woman's room after similar 2022 attack

Reception handed over a key after the man provided the guest’s full name and room number, the chain said.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Travelodge. <i>(Image: PA)</i>

What this story says

  • A woman was attacked in her Travelodge hotel room in London in October 2023 after reception staff gave her abuser a key.
  • The attacker had previously been jailed for seven and a half years for a similar attack at a Travelodge in Maidenhead in December 2022.
  • Travelodge apologised, acknowledged its room-access policy was not followed, and said it had since changed its security procedures.
  • No right-rated outlet reported the incident.

Who covered it

Left 60%(3)Centre 40%(3)Right 0%(0)

Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

33/100

Craft

85/100

Hype

30/100

8 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

A woman was attacked in her Travelodge hotel room in London after reception staff gave her abuser a key. The incident took place in October 2023. The woman told the BBC the attacker kicked the hotel room door off its hinges. Travelodge issued a statement apologising and said its room-access policies were not correctly followed at the time.

The attacker had previously been sentenced for a similar attack at a Travelodge in Maidenhead, Berkshire, in December 2022. Kyran Smith received a seven-and-a-half-year jail term in February 2024 for that incident. The Press Association reported that in both cases, the individual provided the guest’s full name and room number at reception.

Travelodge said it had made changes to its security policy after Smith’s sentencing. The chain now requires explicit permission from guests before issuing additional or replacement keys. Freddie van Mierlo, the MP for Thame, Oxfordshire, where Travelodge’s head office is based, called for the chief executive to step down, saying the changes had not gone far enough.

What the coverage left out

No right-rated outlet ran the story. None of the digests mentioned the cost of the security changes or whether Travelodge faced any regulatory action or fines over the incidents. The woman’s name was not published in any of the reports.

Tags:#DomesticViolence#HotelSecurity#CorporateAccountability#Travelodge#UKCrime

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 10 Aug 2026, 11:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Travelodge said it was 'deeply sorry' [file photo]
Daily RecordLeft

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

3 rated outlets

  • The left-rated reports led on the woman’s account of the attack and the hotel’s failure to follow its own security policies. The Daily Record and the Oxford Mail quoted the woman’s description of the night as one of the most "traumatic" of her life. Both reports included her statement that the attacker kicked the door off its hinges after being given a key by reception staff.
  • The Daily Record and the Irish Mirror carried the woman’s explanation that she had booked the room for a "night away from the fear" after a period of abuse. The Independent’s digest noted that Travelodge had made changes to its room-access policy. All three left-rated digests included the woman’s account of the receptionist’s response, which did not involve calling the police or checking if she needed medical attention.

Centre

3 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated reports focused on the chain’s response and the broader security failures. The BBC’s digest led with the woman’s statement that her attacker kicked the hotel room door "off its hinges" after being given the key. The Oxford Mail, which also carries a centre rating, included Travelodge’s apology and its admission that room-access policies were not followed.
  • Both centre-rated reports quoted Freddie van Mierlo’s call for the chief executive to step down. The Oxford Mail included his statement that Travelodge had failed in its "most basic duty to look after the safety of its guests" and that the changes made were insufficient. The BBC’s digest did not mention the woman’s background or the receptionist’s response.

Right

0 rated outlets

No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.

Read it at the source

8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

3

Centre

3

Right

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

Not rated

2

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

More in Business & Economy

All Business & Economy →
US jobs fall by 23,000 in July 2026, cutting odds of September Fed rate rise5 min readUS jobs fall by 23,000 in July 2026, cutting odds of September Fed rate riseRead storyADNOC Gas plans $8bn expansion and east-coast LNG plant to bypass Hormuz4 min readADNOC Gas plans $8bn expansion and east-coast LNG plant to bypass HormuzRead storyThe waiting lounge of the new commercial terminal of the Montreal Metropolitan Airport is seen in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)4 min readPorter Airlines cancels flight after child refuses to sit and fasten seatbeltRead story
Travelodge staff gave abuser key to woman's room | MediaBias News