End of the Road for Asylum Seekers Living in Luxury Hotels as the Home Office Takes a Shot at Them
The government has finally taken action against one of the companies housing asylum seekers in hotels, but the whole system remains in chaos. Stay Belvedere Hotels, which managed 51 asylum hotels across England and Wales plus the notorious Napier Barracks, has been sacked after the Home Office found serious problems with how they were running things. Their contract won’t officially end until September 2026 though – showing just how tangled these arrangements are.
Meanwhile, the numbers keep getting worse. Nearly 6,000 migrants have crossed the Channel already this year – that’s up 36% from last year’s record numbers. And despite all the promises, there are actually 8,000 more asylum seekers in hotels now than when Labour took over, costing taxpayers a staggering £5.5 million every single day.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook can’t even say when this hotel scandal will end. He keeps blaming the Tories for the mess but won’t give any proper answers about when things will improve. The truth is they’re stuck – the system’s so broken that even when they find a contractor not doing their job properly, it takes years to get out of the contract.
What’s really shocking is the cost difference – housing someone in a hotel costs £145 per night compared to just £14 for proper housing. But instead of fixing this, the government keeps throwing money at the problem while making empty promises. With crossings still rising and hotels filling up, voters are right to wonder when they’ll see real action rather than just reviews and excuses.
