Greaney said blame rested with Travelodge as an organisation rather than with individual staff, and a culture had developed in which room intrusions were regarded as “one of those things”.
The woman emailed a complaint to Travelodge in January 2023, addressed to chief executive Jo Boydell and others.
The review concluded the email was handled by her office without her knowledge, and did not come to Boydell’s attention until March 2026.
The woman’s complaint was instead investigated by a manager who was himself criticised in it, and the customer services team offered her a refund for her night’s stay, which she understood to be £30.
Boydell stepped down as chief executive in August following criticism over the company’s handling of safety complaints. The review said she deserved credit for driving improvements from March.
The attack became national news in March after the woman contacted the BBC, saying the case raised serious questions about room security at Travelodge hotels.
Since then, dozens of people have shared experiences of strangers entering their rooms, including a domestic abuse victim whose abuser was given a key to her room at a Travelodge in London.
Then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote to Boydell in March urging her to “seriously engage” with the government over security. Greaney was appointed to lead the review the following month.
The review makes 38 recommendations, including moving towards a system that requires guests to show ID to get a room key, which Travelodge has been trialling at some hotels since May.
