“It takes 20 years to build a reputation – and five minutes to destroy it”.
The quote famously attributed to US entrepreneur Warren Buffett could easily be applied this week to Travelodge.
News emerged in the last few days that a man entered their Maidenhead hotel in December 2022, pretending to be the boyfriend of a woman, whom he’d been at the same party with that night.
He went on to sexually assault her, having been given a key and the room number by hotel staff, after passing security checks.
Attacker Kyran Smith was jailed last week for seven-and-a-half years for the assault.
Travelodge’s initial response was to offer £30 to the victim, for which they later apologised.
The hotel chain then concluded that staff had followed security procedures correctly when questioning Smith at reception, before offering the room key and number.
It begs the question: what’s to stop the same thing happening again?
Incidents and attitudes
Incidents happen. Attitudes are preventable.
In any organisation, incidents happen.
They happen here at Pink Elephant. They happen in the world’s most trusted organisations. And they need to be dealt with.
But what happens next has the potential to ruin the reputation of the organisation involved, or preserve it.
We were involved in one of these incidents some years ago.
A hotel chain called us, telling us that staff were concerned about the health of guests on site.
They worried that they were the source of an outbreak, but that had yet to be confirmed.
They asked our advice.
Close the hotel, we strongly recommend.
“But we’ll lose out on thousands, and nothing is confirmed”.
Our response?
“If you stay open and it emerges that you put people at risk willingly, it’ll be the end of your hotel”.
Regret, Reason, Remedy
Travelodge apologised for the “insulting” £30 compensation.
I’m yet to find an apology for the incident itself.
And that makes me wonder why.
Perhaps it’s the legal ramifications of admitting liability.
Perhaps it’s an organisational culture: protect staff first.
Either way, Travelodge needs Regret, Reason, Remedy.
Regret: “Sorry” is the first step. Sorry that the assault happened in the first place. Sorry that the hotel was unable to protect its guests.
Reason: why it happened. A full and frank explanation of what failed in the security checks.
Remedy: how they’ll make sure it’s the last time it ever happens. Staff training, new procedures, and an explanation that it may take longer to get a second key in future, or that you’ll need to be named on the booking to receive one.
The three Rs allow you to wrestle back that moral high ground in the first place.
Regret, Reason, Remedy
Travelodge is far from alone in failing to take control when things go wrong.
We’ve all been there in our own lives when we know we should say sorry, but pride or fear stops us.
Most of us can recover from that situation, given a second chance.
It’s different with your organisation – you’re likely only to get one chance.
Make sure your organisation is well-placed to get it right first time.
Travelodge scandal: Our reaction to hotel chain’s actions
Photos in Travelodge scandal: Our reaction to hotel chain’s actions by Pink Elephant Communications.
Travelodge scandal: Our reaction to hotel chain’s actions was written by Andrew McFarlan and edited by Maxine Montgomery.
