Register to get free articles
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
Chertsey Travelodge has apologised after mistaking a widower for a paedophile when he booked a double room with his daughter.
Craig Darwell, 45, had planned a birthday trip to Thorpe Park for his daughter Millie, 13, and booked a room at the nearby hotel. According to Darwell from Leeds, a double room was all that the hotel had available at the time.
When he checked in, the hotel manager asked Darwell to prove that he was the youngster’s father. He could only show them pictures of Millie as a baby and photos from his Facebook profile.
They then informed him that they had already called the police and asked him to wait for them to arrive.
Surrey Police interviewed Millie, asking her to prove that Darwell was her father and asked her for photographic evidence. The police then ended their questioning, satisfied that that Darwell was her dad.
Travelodge has now apologised and said its staff were trained according to national guidelines.
Darwell has since suggested that changes need to be made to online booking systems, with requests for underage visitors at the booking stage.
He said: “At the point of booking, when I booked online, if I could have flagged up that somebody’s underage, that I need to put some ID in, either a passport or a birth certificate, and I need to put it in at that point and bring it with me.”
A Travelodge spokesman said: “We take our responsibilities towards protecting children and vulnerable young people extremely seriously.
“Our colleagues are trained based on current national guidelines from the NSPCC, the police and other agencies and in the past hotel team actions have led to successful intervention to protect young people.”
He added that a full investigation would take place.
