Owners of Hotel Used to House Asylum Seekers for Almost Five Years Speak Out After Visiting the Building and Seeing Its Shocking Condition

The owners of the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool have spoken out after videos showing the poor condition of the building spread across social media, leaving many people shocked and questioning who will pay for the repairs.

The hotel, which was used to house asylum seekers for almost five years, has been left in a worrying condition, according to videos shared online by urban explorers.

One of the videos, filmed by a group known as Derelict Detective, showed different parts of the hotel looking abandoned and badly damaged. Plates and tables were seen piled up, while some areas had broken flooring and damaged tiles that appeared to need major repairs.

The footage quickly attracted attention online, with many people asking what would happen to the building and whether taxpayers would have to pay to bring it back into good condition.

Following the videos, a spokesperson for the hotel’s owners confirmed that they were aware of the footage circulating online.

The spokesperson said they knew that urban explorers had entered the Metropole Hotel and shared videos of what they found inside.

However, the situation has raised fresh questions about the agreement between the hotel owners and the government when the building was used to accommodate asylum seekers.

The Metropole Hotel, which belongs to Britannia Hotels, stopped operating as a normal hotel in September 2021 after it was taken over for use as accommodation for migrants and asylum seekers.

At first, the arrangement was expected to last only three months. However, it continued for almost five years before the last asylum seekers moved out during the summer of 2026.

Now that the building is empty, some local people want to know who is responsible for repairing the damage and whether the government had agreed to cover the cost of refurbishment.

One reader, Paul Ming Michalowski, questioned whether the original agreement included a promise that the government would pay to restore the hotel after the asylum seekers left.

Another reader, Jason Riches, raised a similar concern, asking whether taxpayers’ money was supposed to cover the refurbishment under the agreement with the government.

Their comments show that some members of the public believe there may have been an arrangement to repair the building once it was no longer being used to house asylum seekers. However, no such agreement was confirmed in the report.

Another woman, Avril Bower, questioned how much money Britannia Hotels had received from the government during the years the hotel was used for asylum accommodation.

She pointed out that the payments came from taxpayers and wanted to know how much public money had been spent.

Other people criticised the general condition of hotels owned by Britannia Hotels.

Hugh Bowie claimed that some of the company’s hotels had not been properly refurbished for decades. He compared the Metropole with Norbreck Castle, another well-known hotel in Blackpool, suggesting that both properties had suffered from a lack of improvements over the years.

Meanwhile, Emma Riley said she would not consider staying at the Metropole again, even if the building was completely refurbished.

The videos have also raised concerns about security at the empty hotel, especially after urban explorers managed to get inside and record its condition.

For many people in Blackpool, the main question is what will happen to the historic building now that it is no longer being used to accommodate asylum seekers.

Some want to see the hotel repaired and reopened to visitors, while others are more concerned about who will pay for the work.

Although the owners have acknowledged the videos, the report did not confirm when refurbishment would begin, how much the repairs might cost or whether the government would contribute towards them.

For now, the future of the Metropole Hotel remains uncertain, and questions about the money spent on housing asylum seekers there continue to attract attention.