A woman from Leeds has described being left shaken after a stranger walked into her Travelodge hotel room in Lincoln, having been handed a key card by reception staff.
Chris Adamson, 63, was on a short break with her husband Paul at the Lincoln branch on April 8 when an unknown man suddenly entered their accommodation.
The security lapse occurred merely days after the budget hotel chain’s chief executive had pledged to strengthen safety protocols following a high-profile sexual assault case.
Travelodge has since apologised, saying it was “extremely sorry” and would provide staff with retraining on room security and check-in procedures.
The couple arrived at the hotel shortly after 2:30pm and promptly reported a problem with their television.
Two staff members attended the room to resolve the issue and also adjusted the air conditioning due to the warm temperature, with one suggesting a room change remained an option if conditions did not improve.
No further difficulties arose until approximately 6pm, when the Adamsons were preparing for an evening out.
At that moment, a man carrying a suitcase entered their room unannounced.
A woman from Leeds has described being left shaken after a stranger walked into her Travelodge hotel room in Lincoln
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Mrs Adamson said: “We’d both just come out the shower and were ready to go out, but half-an-hour earlier and we wouldn’t have been. That would have been very unpleasant.”
The incident comes amid serious security concerns at the hotel chain.
In February, Kyran Smith, a 29-year-old from Staines in Surrey, received a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman in her room at a Travelodge in Maidenhead, Berkshire, in December 2022.
Smith had gained access after staff provided him with a key card to the victim’s accommodation.
Chris Adamson was on a short break with her husband, Paul, at the Lincoln branch
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Following that case, Travelodge announced in March that it had implemented “immediate changes” to its key card policy.
On March 30, CEO Jo Boydell stated: “We’re working really really hard to make sure that we get this right going forwards.”
The intruder appeared equally surprised and departed swiftly, with Mrs Adamson following him to the reception to lodge a complaint.
She described the response from front desk staff as dismissive, recounting: “The people on reception said, all we can say is we’re really sorry, accidents happen.”
Travelodge announced in March that it had implemented ‘immediate changes’ to its key card policy.
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Mrs Adamson expressed frustration that such errors could still occur, given extensive media coverage of security breaches at hotels.
She said: “I would have thought after all this time they would have done something to put it right. My worry is if it happens to someone else who is alone in a room, because there doesn’t seem to be the security checks in place.”
Asked about future stays, she said: “I don’t think I would stay in a Travelodge by myself now.”
A Travelodge spokesman said the company was “extremely sorry” about the couple’s experience, which “should not have happened”.
Travelodge is a major budget hotel chain operating primarily in the UK
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They said: “After Ms Adamson complained about a fault in her room, we offered to move her into another room and processed this room move on our systems.
“Subsequently we were able to fix the fault, and Ms Adamson made the decision to stay in her original room, but this was not reflected on our systems. This led to another guest being issued a key for Ms Adamson’s original room in error.
“We are retraining the hotel team on room security and check-in procedures.”
The spokesman said an independent review would “look at how we can strengthen our procedures and training to prevent these situations occurring”.