Britannia Hotel Bournemouth: Asylum Accommodation Profile

Location and Context

The Britannia Hotel sits on Meyrick Road, close to Bournemouth town centre and a short walk from the seafront. The hotel is part of the Britannia Hotels chain, one of the UK's largest budget hotel groups. Like many Britannia properties, it has been contracted by the Home Office to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their claims.

Bournemouth has become one of the key locations for asylum dispersal in the South West, with multiple hotels in the BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) council area being used for this purpose. The town's existing hotel infrastructure, combined with relatively lower commercial occupancy rates compared to London, has made it an attractive option for government contractors seeking large-scale accommodation.

The use of hotels for asylum accommodation in Bournemouth has been a subject of local discussion, with the BCP Council engaging with the Home Office regarding the number of asylum seekers placed in the area and the support services available to them.

Estimated Cost Breakdown

The Britannia Hotel Bournemouth has approximately 123 rooms, all of which have been block-booked by the Home Office. The hotel is entirely closed to commercial guests. Based on NAO data and industry benchmarks, here is an estimated breakdown of costs for this specific site.

Cost estimates based on NAO "Investigation into asylum accommodation" (2024), Home Office asylum support rates, Legal Aid Agency fee schedules, and industry benchmarks for hotel security and catering. Room count confirmed via hotel booking platforms. Actual contract rates are commercially confidential and may differ.

Asylum Accommodation in Bournemouth

Bournemouth hosts several asylum accommodation sites. In addition to the Britannia Hotel, other properties in the area include the Chine Hotel on Boscombe Spa Road and the Roundhouse Hotel, also on Meyrick Road. The concentration of multiple sites within a relatively small area reflects the town's large stock of hotel accommodation and the Home Office's approach of contracting through hotel chains with multiple available properties.

The South West region as a whole has seen a notable increase in asylum accommodation placements, with hotels used in Bristol, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Torquay, and Exeter in addition to Bournemouth. According to Home Office statistics, the South West accounted for approximately 8% of the UK's total asylum accommodation capacity as of 2024.

Local councils in the region have raised concerns about the pace and scale of placements, particularly around access to healthcare, education, and other public services for asylum seekers housed in hotels. The government's Asylum Dispersal policy aims to distribute placements more evenly across the UK, though the availability of suitable accommodation remains a constraint.

How Hotels Are Selected for Asylum Use

The Home Office contracts three main providers:Serco, Mears Group, and Clearsprings Ready Homes:to source and manage asylum accommodation across the UK. These contractors negotiate directly with hotel operators, typically securing block bookings at rates below the public room rate.

Hotels are selected based on several factors including availability, cost, location relative to existing support services, and capacity. Budget hotel chains with larger room counts are often preferred as they can accommodate greater numbers under a single contract. The Britannia Hotels chain has been one of the most widely used across the UK asylum accommodation programme.

Once contracted, hotels typically cease taking regular commercial bookings for the rooms allocated to the asylum programme. This arrangement can last for months or years, depending on the terms of the contract and the wider availability of alternative accommodation such as dispersed housing.

Other Asylum Hotels in the Area