Travelodge's chief executive Jo Boydell has stepped down, the hotel chain announced on Thursday, amid continuing fallout from a 2022 sexual assault at one of its Maidenhead hotels.
The attack occurred after staff mistakenly issued a key card to the victim's attacker. In February, Kyran Smith was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for the assault.
Ms Boydell apologised to the victim, who cannot be named, in a statement issued in March, saying the company had made "immediate changes" to its door key policy. She had been due to meet MPs that month to discuss safety issues at the hotel chain, but the meeting was cancelled, a decision the victim said left her "shocked".
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, the victim said: "I think if you are the CEO of a company, then you have a responsibility to answer these questions and engage in that situation, and say how you're going to now improve. You're not protecting people and I mean, I personally find it quite shocking."
Responding on the same programme, Ms Boydell said: "I'm really sorry if she did feel dismissed, and we are definitely listening to what she has to say. The hotels with key cards have deadbolts, but clearly something went wrong here, and that needs to be investigated."
She also apologised in separate interviews with ITV and the BBC, telling the latter she was "genuinely sorry" for the company's handling of the incident. Former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer subsequently urged Ms Boydell to "seriously engage" with the government on the issue.
On Thursday, Travelodge confirmed that Ms Boydell is leaving the group after 13 years. She will be replaced on an interim basis by chief financial officer Ray Reidy while the company searches for a permanent successor.
Mr Reidy said: "We remain focused on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and will continue taking the actions necessary to strengthen the business. We will also continue to engage proactively and constructively with government and the wider hospitality industry on the issue of safety and security."
Travelodge said it had "acted quickly" to improve safety procedures following the assault, amid claims that staff had been giving out duplicate keys without proper security checks. The company said an independent review led by Paul Greaney KC had been completed, with an internal review still ongoing and changes being rolled out across the business.
These changes include new room access security measures now live across more than 600 of its hotels, along with additional training for its 12,000 customer-facing staff. The company said a guest must now give explicit permission before an extra or replacement room key can be issued, and that it will never confirm to a third party whether a guest is staying at one of its hotels.
Travelodge has also taken steps to check and confirm that all key-card doors are fitted with a secondary deadbolt. In addition, the company said its senior staff are undertaking a training programme developed by an expert in tackling violence against women and girls.
Ms Boydell was appointed chief executive in May 2022, having previously served as the company's chief financial officer from March 2013.
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. Readers can call 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit www.rapecrisis.org.uk. In the United States, Rainn can be contacted on 800-656-HOPE (4673).
