Travelodge boss Joanna Boydell has resigned after widespread backlash over her handling of sexual assault at hotel.
According to The Guardian, Boydell stepped down on Thursday, August 20, after handling of hotel chain security failure and shocking incident where domestic abuser was handed a key to women’s room before assaulting her.
In a brief company statement on Thursday, Travelodge said Joanna Boydell had stepped down and been temporarily replaced by its finance chief, Ray Reidy. The company has launched a formal search for a permanent substitute.
Travelodge chair, Stephen Shurrock, said the announcement “does not change anything about our focus on safety and security.”
Boydell’s resignation comes months after the former prime minister Keir Starmer wrote to her warning that she must “seriously engage with MPs” over concerns about women’s safety, after a spate of shocking breaches of security that left guests at risk of attack.
The letter was sent after a hotel guest in Berkshire was sexually assaulted by a man who was wrongly given access to her room in 2022.
He falsely claimed he was her partner, before sexually assaulting her in her hotel bed. The victim was later offered what she described as an “insulting” £30 refund after the incident.
Earlier this month, it emerged that another woman who had been staying in one of Travelodge’s London hotels to escape her domestic abuser in October 2025, had been attacked after the man was given a key by reception staff.
The woman, who is remaining anonymous, told BBC that she ran “shaking, crying and begging for help,” adding, “I thought someone would protect me.”
Travelodge has previously defended itself, saying such instances are “very rare” and customer safety was a priority.
Travelodge announce policy change after assault incidents
The company said that it had also conducted an “audit” to ensure all of its UK rooms had a secondary deadbolt, and was making changes to its room access security policy.
Travelodge stated, “Any additional or replacement room key now requires explicit permission from the guest staying in the room. This builds on our existing policy to never confirm to any third party that a guest is staying at one of our hotels.”
“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. We have acted quickly to make changes to improve safety and security across our operations,” the company added.
Travelodge also said 12,000 of its customer-facing staff across more than 600 of its UK sites were being trained in the new room access security policy, and a violence against women and girls expert had been brought in to train Travelodge’s senior bosses.
