Cairn Hotel, Bathgate
The Cairn Hotel on Blackburn Road in Bathgate, West Lothian, has been leased to Home Office contractors since October 2023 and now houses around 88 asylum seekers. The owners, Hannigan Hotels, confirmed the change in a public statement after online reaction prompted what they described as racial microaggression online[1]Press.
Capacity
88
asylum seekers at peak
Per night
£145
per resident
Annual
£4.7m
estimated
Background
The Cairn Hotel sits on Blackburn Road, the A7066, on the edge of Bathgate in West Lothian. Before the Home Office contract it was a long-established Scottish family-run hotel, owned by Hannigan Hotels, with restaurant and function-room facilities. Bathgate is a former mining town of around 22,000 people on the Glasgow to Edinburgh railway line.
The October 2023 lease
The Edinburgh Reporter confirmed in October 2023 that the Cairn Hotel had closed to the general public and been leased to government contractors to house asylum seekers, with around 80 single men from the Middle East and Africa expected at the site while their asylum applications were determined. The Cairn was reported to now house 88 asylum seekers in total, and West Lothian Council issued a statement noting that the facility would be wholly operated and funded via the Home Office and that the council would have no role in day-to-day management[1]Press.
Police Scotland 12-month FOI
In March 2025 Police Scotland disclosed a 12-month set of incident statistics for the Cairn Hotel in its asylum capacity, in response to FOI request 25-0553. The disclosure log records all calls for service to the hotel over the specified 12-month window and is available on the Police Scotland disclosure log[2]GOV.UK.
Protests and counter-protests
Midlothian View reports West Lothian councillors publicly calling out anti-asylum protests focused on the Cairn Hotel and other regional asylum sites in 2025, against the backdrop of nationwide weekend demonstrations across Scottish and UK contingency hotels[3]Press.
Cost analysis
At the £145 per person per day Sky News figure for hotel-based asylum accommodation in 2024 and 2025, and 88 residents, the Cairn Hotel running cost works out at about £12,800 per night and roughly £4.7 million per year. The May 2025 NAO contract review put the average per hotel run rate across the wider portfolio at about £5.84 million per year[5]NAO, so the Bathgate Cairn sits broadly in line with the national average.
Per-person per-day cost stack (benchmark)
£170- Hotel rate (room + three meals)£10059%
- Weekly cash allowance£74%
- Legal aid & casework£127%
- NHS / interpreter / utilities£1911%
- Contractor / security overhead£3219%
Cost in context
Cairn Hotel Bathgate
£145
reported
UK asylum hotel avg
£170
NAO
West Lothian budget hotel
£60
commercial
Hostel bed
£30
commercial
The £170 Migration Observatory benchmark[4] is the all-in UK 2024 to 2025 average; Sky News puts the Scottish regional rate at the lower £145 figure used here.
Timeline
Timeline
Pre-2023
Operates as a Hannigan Hotels Cairn Hotel on Blackburn Road, Bathgate
Oct 2023
Leased to Home Office contractors
Hannigan Hotels confirms closure to public; site now houses around 88 single male asylum seekers under the Mears Scotland contract.
Mar 2025
Police Scotland 12-month FOI disclosure
25-0553 disclosure log records calls for service over a 12-month period.
2025
Protests and counter-protests
West Lothian councillors call out anti-asylum demonstrations focused on the Cairn.
Sources
- Owners of hostel for asylum seekers concerned over online racial anger — The Edinburgh Reporter, Oct 2023
The Edinburgh Reporter confirms the Cairn Hotel in Bathgate has closed and been leased to government contractors to house asylum seekers, with around 80 single men awaiting decisions on their applications.
- 25-0553 Incident stats Cairn Hotel Bathgate (asylum seekers) 12 months — Police Scotland, Mar 2025
Police Scotland Freedom of Information disclosure log records calls for service at the Cairn Hotel, Bathgate over a 12 month period in its capacity as asylum accommodation.
- West Lothian councillors call out asylum protests — Midlothian View, 2025
Midlothian View reports West Lothian councillors called out anti-asylum protests focused on the Cairn Hotel, Bathgate.
- Asylum accommodation in the UK — Migration Observatory, University of Oxford, Aug 2025
£170 per person per day in hotels (2024/25 average); used for per-hotel estimates and food/utilities breakdowns.
- The Home Office's asylum accommodation contracts — National Audit Office, May 2025
222 hotels in use; £1.296 billion annual (2024/25); per-hotel approximately £5.84 million.