IN the run-up to Christmas, the Delta Marriott hotel on the outskirts of Warwick would usually be bustling with locals enjoying family meals and guests celebrating festive weddings.
The four-star hotel advertises itself as the perfect location for tourists visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon and boasts a restaurant with a menu drawn up by a Michelin-starred chef.
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But that all changed in the middle of November when security fences were put up and a plastic sheet was placed over the sign at its front entrance.
The takeover of the hotel by the Home Office to house asylum seekers while their claims are processed came as a shock to paying guests and those living nearby, with bookings cancelled at less than 24 hours’ notice.
The site is one of the seven new asylum hotels opened since the election, despite Labour’s manifesto pledge to end their use.
With 133,409 asylum seekers waiting at the end of September for an initial decision on their claims, hotels are used as a quick fix for an overwhelmed system.
READ MORE ON MIGRANT HOTELS
The processing of claims ground to a halt under the previous Tory government after they passed a law which meant anyone who arrived illegally could not claim asylum and would instead be told they could be heading to Rwanda.
When Labour won the July election they restarted the system, but a huge backlog remains on top of the nearly 100,000 people who applied for asylum in the year to September.
Since the election, the number housed in hotels like the Delta Marriott has jumped by 21 per cent to 35,361.
There are currently 220 such hotels in operation across the country.
The Delta Marriott’s manager Naveed Hussain apologised on Tripadvisor to one disgruntled guest who had had their stay cancelled, saying it was due to “unforeseen circumstances, as the hotel is currently committed to an exclusive-use booking until mid-February 2025”.
Previously a night’s stay at the hotel cost £104 on average, according to Tripadvisor, where guests praised it for the friendly staff and “super-comfy” beds.
Komal Pahl, who lives with three generations of her family a stone’s throw from the hotel, told The Sun on Sunday that they were given no notice of what would be happening.
She said: “My sister used to go to the gym there, as did several of our neighbours, but obviously that has all changed now.
“We had no knowledge of what was about to happen. We saw they covered up their hotel signs, which was odd, and the next day metal fences arrived, along with security guards. I found out from Facebook.”
Komal, 25, who works for an anti-racism charity in Coventry, added: “It was a shock. I don’t know much about politics but we all voted Labour and for this to happen with no warning and no one telling us anything does not feel right.”
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Neighbour Manjit Atwal, 75, a retired company director, often visited the hotel before it closed to paying guests. He said: “My son used to be the duty manager there, the staff know us and we use it for drinks if we have guests staying.
“The hotel was our neighbour. We’re not happy. We were told nothing about this, and as we’re in the middle of selling our house it’s very stressful.”
Andrew Day, a Tory councillor on Warwick District Council, said: “You can’t blame the hotel for taking guaranteed revenue in the quiet months but it does represent a loss to the community.”
‘Kept in the dark’
He added: “This is just another example of Labour saying one thing to get elected, then doing another when in power.
“It just shows that this is an intractable problem, no matter who is in power.”
In Altrincham, Gtr Manchester, residents held a meeting to voice concerns that they have been left in an “information vacuum” after the nearby Cresta Court Hotel was turned into an asylum hotel without their knowledge.
Gwyneth and Roger Roper, who have previously housed Ukrainian refugees, said they were concerned about the lack of information.
Gwyneth said: “I can’t say I agree or disagree with what’s going on because we’ve just been kept in the dark and treated like mushrooms.
“It’s wrong of local and central government not to consult us on something that could impact the local community.”
Annually £5.38billion is spent on the UK’s asylum system, or nearly £15million a day. It is the highest total spending since comparable records began in 2010 and is up by nearly 12 times in ten years.
The hotel bill was previously £8.3million a day, when the number of people housed in hotels peaked at 56,042 in September 2023.
Labour’s pledge to cut that bill was laid out clearly in their manifesto, which stated: “Labour will turn the page and restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly, and the rules are properly enforced.
Among the reasons why so many people are in hotels is that for a long time the claims weren’t being processed
Sir Keir Starmer
“We will hire additional caseworkers to clear the Conservatives’ backlog and end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions.”
With more asylum seekers arriving, more accommodation is needed. But after nearly seven months, work to convert a student accommodation block in Huddersfield, West Yorks is incomplete.
In the year to September, 99,790 people applied for asylum, up slightly from the 98,926 total in the previous 12 months. Of the latest arrivals, those who had crossed the Channel in small boats made up 28 per cent of the total.
At a press conference this week Sir Keir Starmer said: “We must bring the cost of asylum down and we have a manifesto pledge to bring the number of hotels down, to end the use of hotels, which we are driving hard at.
“The way to do that is to increase the processing of claims. Among the reasons why so many people are in hotels is that for a long time the claims weren’t being processed.”
He added: “We’ve returned 9,600 since the election and we have got more flights off than has ever been done before.”
This week Kemi Badenoch used her first major policy speech as Tory leader to say “immigration, both legal and illegal, is too high”.
She said: “We can argue about the effects of migration on the economy, we can discuss the impact on public services and housing, and we haven’t done that enough.
‘Clearing the backlog’
“But fundamentally, this country is not a dormitory or a hotel, it is our home. We need to look after it.”
A Labour source said: “When the Tories were kicked out of power on July 4, the immigration system was on its knees.
“Between the start of the year and the General Election, asylum decisions dropped by 75 per cent and asylum interviews fell by more than 80 per cent.
“We’re now making over 10,000 asylum decisions per month, clearing the backlog.
“If the chaotic Conservatives had carried on, we would have had more than 10,000 additional people in hotels by the end of the year.
“We said we will fix the broken asylum system — we are getting on with the job.”
France: rethink asylum
FRANCE’S Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau is ready for a “showdown” with the UK over Channel crossings unless the British government opens more legal asylum routes.
On a visit to Calais on Friday he said he wants a “comprehensive” deal with Britain and the wider European community rather than more UK funding to police French beaches.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is to meet him on December 9 as figures show more than 50 people have died trying to cross the Channel this year – the highest total ever.
Mr Retailleau called for a deal in which the UK would accept asylum applicants, with the EU taking back those it rejects, and said he would “arm-wrestle” with the EU over the issue, adding: “Only a comprehensive deal between the UK and the EU can really turn things around.”
