Travelodge chief executive Jo Boydell has issued a public apology and announced sweeping changes to the hotel chain's security protocols following a sexual assault at its Maidenhead branch in December 2022. Kyran Smith, 29, received a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence in February after attacking a woman in her room at the Berkshire branch. "I would like to express again how deeply sorry I am for what happened to the victim and for the mistakes we made in handling this," Ms Boydell stated on Sunday. The CEO acknowledged the company's failings, saying: "We got things wrong and we should have acted sooner, and I am truly sorry for that." TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Ms Boydell has requested a meeting with the victim to discuss the incident directly. The assault occurred after Smith and the victim had attended the same party before separately checking into the hotel. In the early hours of the morning, around 2am, Ms Smith approached the reception desk and falsely told staff he was the woman's boyfriend who had been locked out. Reception workers handed over a replacement key card after he provided nothing more than her name, with no secondary verification performed. The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, was asleep when Smith entered her room using the fraudulently obtained access card. She woke to find him sexually assaulting her in her bed, according to Thames Valley Police. After the victim confronted him and demanded he leave, Smith returned the key to reception before going to his own room. Speaking before the security changes were announced, the victim told said Travelodge had "ample opportunity to deal with the case better" but "took a very long time to reply to me and didn't really take it very seriously". The company's initial response to the traumatic incident was a £30 refund for her stay, which she described as "insulting". LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Council scraps cash parking payments in move to app-only system in blow to thousands of drivers Andrew requests to end lease on another Windsor property after paying £13,000 in rent Drivers risk seeing national speed limit cut from 60mph to 30mph under new proposals Travelodge has since acknowledged this offer was "inappropriate" and failed to reflect the severity of what the guest experienced. The victim emphasised that personal details alone should never justify handing over room access without consent. "If hotels aren't doing that, they need to contact the person before they give a key away," she said. She also noted her room lacked a door chain, suggesting such features should become mandatory across all hotels to reduce risk. Travelodge has now implemented what it describes as a "Zero-Trust" verification protocol across its 600 UK hotels. Staff must now check physical identification matching the booking name before issuing replacement keys. Where guests have left identification inside locked rooms, employees must telephone the registered mobile number or confirm three separate pieces of personal data before escorting them to retrieve their documents. The chain is also deploying additional security personnel at busy urban sites between midnight and 6am. All 12,000 customer-facing employees are undergoing mandatory safety workshops focused on recognising social engineering tactics. More than 20 MPs, including former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, demanded urgent discussions with the company. Ms Boydell is today meeting with Labour MPs Matt Bishop and Jen Craft, as well as safeguarding minister Jess Phillips. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter