Asylum hotels vow to EVICT migrants after Home Office ditches provider – ‘No payment, no option!’

Hotels in London and along the south coast are threatening to remove hundreds of asylum seekers from their properties after a housing contractor stopped making payments. The company, Stay Belvedere Hotels, recently had its Home Office contract terminated over claims it wasn’t meeting required standards. 

Hotel owners say they haven’t been paid what they’re owed, leaving them unable to cover essential costs like building insurance. “If the payments don’t come through, we’ll have no option but to ask the asylum seekers to leave,” one hotel manager explained anonymously. 

Before losing its contract in late March, Stay Belvedere was managing more than 50 hotels housing migrants across the country. The firm worked as a subcontractor for Clearsprings Ready Homes, one of the government’s main accommodation providers that reported £91 million in profits last year. 

The situation affects about 38,000 asylum seekers currently staying in UK hotels, a system that costs taxpayers approximately £5.5 million daily. While most hotels facing payment issues are in London, others in Bournemouth, Eastbourne and Folkestone are also impacted. 

Government officials say all required payments have been made to Clearsprings, and it’s now up to them and Stay Belvedere to resolve the payment delays. “We’re working to transfer the contract to other providers, but if these companies fail to cooperate, we’ll take appropriate action,” a source commented. 

Normally, hotels invoice Stay Belvedere around the 20th of each month and receive payment within about a week. However, since the contract cancellation, these regular payments have stopped completely, with some hotels receiving 90-day notices to end their agreements. 

The Home Office is moving the accommodation contracts to three other companies – Mears, Serco and CTM. However, some hotel owners say they can’t immediately switch providers due to confidentiality agreements with Stay Belvedere that could last up to five years. 

This accommodation crisis comes as the number of migrants arriving by small boats continues breaking records. Official figures show more than 30,300 people have crossed the Channel since the current government took office. 

When asked about the situation, the Home Office declined to provide additional comments.