The report said the case uncovered problems with room security not just within the business but across the entire hotel sector.
The review was commissioned earlier this year, and conducted by Paul Greaney KC, after a guest was sexually assaulted at a Travelodge in Maidenhead, Berkshire, by a man who had been given a key card to her room.
Mr Greaney said the woman assaulted, referred to in the report as “Lily”, was “fundamentally failed by Travelodge as an organisation at every stage”.
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She was “treated by Travelodge in a way that was inappropriate and unfair; indeed, it was disgraceful”, he concluded.
Ray Reidy, the interim chief executive of Travelodge, said: “I apologise unreservedly on behalf of Travelodge to all guests where we have failed, and particularly to Lily.”
Jo Boydell stepped down as Travelodge’s chief executive in August as the row over its safety measures continued to dominate.
Ms Boydell was heavily criticised for how she handled the incident and concerns over safety across the chain, prompting former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to step in earlier this year and urge her to “seriously engage” with the Government on the issue after she cancelled a meeting with MPs.
Kyran Smith was jailed in February for seven-and-a-half years following the attack in December 2022.
Travelodge previously said it had “acted quickly” to improve safety procedures following the assault and as claims emerged that staff were giving out duplicate keys without the proper security checks.
The Thame-based business said a guest must now give explicit permission for an extra or replacement room key to be given out and that it will never confirm to a third party if a guest is staying at one of its hotels.
Freddie van Mierlo (Image: Contributed)
Freddie van Mierlo, Henley and Thame MP, said: “As the local MP to Travelodge’s headquarters, I want to see the business succeed and do well.
“It employs around 300 people locally. But it will only succeed if it puts customer safety at the heart of its business and I made that clear to executives.
Mr Reidy on Thursday acknowledged the independent review “makes it clear that there were failures in Travelodge’s room access security policies and procedures and in the way customers have been treated”.
He added: “We have made significant progress in preventing and addressing these issues over the past six months, and we recognise we still have further to go.”
He said Travelodge is dedicating “significant resources” to the overhaul and making changes to its governance in order to make the improvements.
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