British economy hotel firm Travelodge Group CEO Jo Boydell has left the company.
Boydell, a 13-year veteran at the privately held company, resigned her position as of Aug. 17, but Travelodge confirmed the news as part of its half-year 2026 earnings report published Thursday. Boydell joined Travelodge as chief financial officer in 2013 and was appointed CEO in May 2022.
Travelodge CFO Ray Reidy has been named interim CEO and will hold the position until a new CEO is appointed.
In a statement, Travelodge Chairman Stephen Shurrock said “this announcement does not change anything about our focus on safety and security.”
Boydell and Travelodge have faced criticism regarding hotel security incidents in which bad actors gained access to guests’ rooms as part of lax check-in protocols.
In one of those incidents from December 2022, a man obtained a key to a woman's room from Travelodge staff at a hotel in Maidenhead, Berkshire, after lying about his relationship with the woman, then sexually assaulted her. The man was found guilty and received a prison sentence of seven years and six months.
The incident caused a public outcry, questions in Parliament, and internal and external investigations into training, liability and processes.
Consternation centered on the admission that the victim of the sexual assault was initially offered a £30 refund after she told employees about the episode.
The BBC reported on the Maidenhead case and referenced three other incidents at Travelodge hotels, including one of a female guest being attacked in her room.
In a previous apology, Boydell said Travelodge had made “immediate changes to our room-access security policy to ensure that any additional or replacement room keys are only issued with explicit permission from the person (or people) staying in the room, and this has been rolled out to all of our hotels, supported by training for our 12,000 customer-facing colleagues.”
She also said Travelodge had commissioned an independent review to be led by barrister Paul Greaney, the findings of which will be released in the summer.
Reidy addressed Travelodge's security initiatives during the company's earnings conference call Thursday. He said the firm has partnered with experts in the field of “violence against women and girls” in a “tailored program of senior leadership training” and would insure all guestroom doors with key-card entry also are fitted with deadbolt locks.
Travelodge earnings highlights
In the first six months of the year, Travelodge's revenue rose 4.2% year over year to £491.3 million ($666.5 million), according to its earnings report. Reidy said the revenue increase was driven by “new and maturing hotels, F&B and [hotel performance] in Spain,” its second major market outside of the U.K.
Travelodge's corporate bookings demand weakened a bit during the first half of the year, notably in London, although leisure demand remained robust, Reidy said.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 1.27% to £47.9 million.
Reidy said the numbers showed a “solid trading performance delivered against a continually challenging market backdrop. To maintain profitability when we have had to contend with significant inflationary and regulatory cost pressures is a creditable performance.”
He added more than three-quarters of Travelodge's hotel portfolio now is upgraded to feature a new look.
The majority of the firm’s hotels are in the United Kingdom. As of June 30, Travelodge's portfolio included 632 hotels and approximately 49,000 rooms across the U.K., Ireland and Spain. Last September it opened its 600th property, the 80-room Travelodge Skegness Seafront.
In Spain, Travelodge's EBITDA increased to £6.9 million and its profit margins have been around 34%, Reidy said.