Tulip Styles Hotel, Reading

The hotel sits on the western edge of central Reading between Tilehurst and the town centre. It opened as an Ibis Styles, the Accor mid market brand. In 2020 the hotel was taken over for long term exclusive use by the UK Government as part of the wider Home Office contingency hotel programme that began during the early months of the COVID 19 pandemic. Berkshire Live reported regular paying guests being turned away at short notice and existing reservations cancelled^[1]Press.

The hotel was later rebranded under the Tulip Styles name. Wokingham.Today reported in 2025 that it has 97 bedrooms and currently houses men from Afghanistan, Iran and other countries while their asylum claims are processed^[2]Press.

In 2025 Wokingham.Today reported that police were called after a disturbance at the Tulip Styles. The Home Office issued a statement confirming the site is in use as asylum accommodation and that providers are required to maintain order and welfare on site as a condition of the contract. The reporting named the hotel directly as an asylum seeker hotel and gave the residents' profile as men from Afghanistan, Iran and other countries awaiting claim decisions^[2]Press.

At the £170 per person per night Migration Observatory benchmark^[3], 97 bedrooms at full asylum occupancy at the Tulip Styles imply headline taxpayer exposure of about £16,490 per night and roughly £6.02 million per year. That is broadly in line with the May 2025 NAO contract review average of about £5.84 million per year per hotel^[4]NAO.