Major UK hotel chain CEO Joanna Boydell resigns amid security failings, sexual assault cases
A major UK hotel chain’s chief executive has stepped down amid growing scrutiny over security failures.Travelodge CEO Joanna Boydell resigned on August 17, the company confirmed in a statement on Thursday. She has been replaced on an interim basis by chief financial officer Ray Reidy, while the company searches for a permanent successor.The resignation follows several reported incidents involving guests receiving room keys without proper checks. In one case, a woman staying at a Travelodge in Maidenhead was sexually assaulted in December 2022 after a man falsely told staff he was her partner and obtained a key to her room. Kyran Smith was later jailed for more than seven years for the attack.Another woman staying at a Travelodge hotel in London while trying to escape a domestic abuser was attacked after reception staff gave the man a key. He reportedly told staff that his girlfriend was upstairs having a seizure. Staff did not check with the woman before giving him access.The woman later told the BBC she ran downstairs “shaking, crying and begging for help”, adding: “I thought someone would protect me.”The incidents have prompted an independent review of Travelodge’s security arrangements, led by barrister Paul Greaney KC.The chain also faced political pressure. In March, then-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote to Boydell urging her to “seriously engage” with MPs and the government over concerns about guest safety.Travelodge said Boydell’s departure would not affect its efforts to improve security.Chair Stephen Shurrock said the announcement “does not change anything about our focus on safety and security”.The company has since introduced tighter rules for room access. It said any additional or replacement key now requires explicit permission from the guest staying in the room.Travelodge has also checked all its UK rooms to ensure they have a secondary deadbolt and is training around 12,000 customer-facing employees across more than 600 hotels on the revised security policy.The company said it had brought in a specialist on violence against women and girls to train senior executives and review its existing procedures.Reidy said: “We remain focused on the safety and well-being of our guests and will continue taking the actions necessary to strengthen the business.”
