A HOTEL manager has spoken of how housing asylum seekers helped save the business from the brink of closure.
The Cumbria Park Hotel in Carlisle began housing asylum seekers in 2022, ceasing operation as a hotel for the public, and joining hotels nationwide at a time when the country saw large numbers of people seeking asylum.
The move sparked protests outside the hotel by people sharing anti-immigrant beliefs and concerns for safety, as it was rumoured that only adult male asylum seekers would be housed in the residential area.
It also, however, sparked a rise in charity and compassion, with many people banding together to help out by supplying essential toiletries for the women and children in the hotel, organising avenues to activities and education, and more.
Amanda, the hotel's general manager, has told the Cumberland News why the hotel took part in the asylum seeker housing programme.
“We were in pretty dire straits when we were approached by the government," she said. “We were haemorrhaging money every week, there was no investment, no capital.”
The government approached the directors of the hotel, and it was agreed they'd house asylum seekers for 12 months. The money they received ‘saved’ them, their jobs, and enabled refurbishments.
All rooms and the bar area have been refurbished with the money made from the project, and after reopening to the public in March this year, they’re now ready to welcome guests for evening meals again.
Amanda said the decision meant some sacrifices had to be made: “We had to cancel the Christmas parties, and people were in uproar, but we were trying to tell people we were selling so cheap that we weren’t making money.”
She said despite the uproar, the move benefitted the area because they’re able to start anew and better, with 30 locals now employed.
“We didn’t have any money, we closed out of necessity, and we’ve now employed all these local people,” she said.
Following the initial announcement, a small protest was seen outside the hotel by people with safety concerns - they believed that male asylum seekers would be housed in the residential area with its nearby school. But there was no truth to this online rumour.
Amanda explained: “A lot of people were protesting, but when the coaches came up and it was women and children coming off, they felt ashamed of themselves.
“Some of the asylum seekers just had flip-flops on, only with the clothes they were wearing as their belongings got lost, and a lot of local people were really good to them.
“People were more disappointed that the Christmas parties were cancelled, but when they saw these women and children coming from warzones and from areas where they don’t have any rights, it put it all into perspective.”
The asylum seekers were benefitting as well – arriving in a democracy with equal rights for women, having journeyed from various African and Middle-Eastern nations in which they suffered injustices and abuse.
“I was sorry to see them go," said Amanda. “They’d been with us for a year, came with nothing, and got their schooling - some of them had never been to school before.
“Some were African, and quite a few were sex-trafficked and brought in by the police.
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“Some were underage, some from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, where women didn’t have any rights,” she explained.
Addressing the anger at their decision, and the calls by some in the city to boycott the hotel, she said: “None of us would have had jobs otherwise; we would’ve been boarded up. Local people said they supported us, but they didn’t.
“We had people from all over the world coming to stay because they were walking Hadrian’s Wall. There was no real local support anyway beforehand, and it just got less and less. The hotel got so shabby that people just stopped coming.
“We hadn’t intended to ruin anybody’s Christmas, but if we didn’t do this, there wouldn't have been a hotel.”
The asylum seekers supported the surrounding businesses, such as the nearby pub and chippy, as the hotel wasn’t offering food, she said.
“They all benefitted from us having 100-plus people staying every night during those 12 months. Every business has benefitted around us.
“If we had closed, the house prices would have devalued, and this would have probably just become flats - local people wouldn’t have had jobs.”
Despite rhetoric in some quarters that the residents weren’t putting back into the community, Amanda said that, though they were legally unable to work, they were offering to help with hoovering, cleaning, and volunteered in the area.
“They just wanted a new life, they didn’t want to be scrounging off the government,” she said.
Some have stayed in touch with Amanda and have found work in the area.
The hotel opened in March and since then, with the refurbishments, the hotel is back stronger than before.
“A lot of the local businesses have started using us again, and we now offer a dinner service seven nights a week, from 5pm to 9pm.”
Brian Wernham, Cumberland councillor for Stanwix Urban, said that when he first found out that asylum seekers were set to be housed in the hotel, he feared it might be rushed and poorly organised.
“Things were in fact rushed, and it was chaotic," he said. “The only way for it to work in a humane fashion was for the community to get involved.”
He got involved with Carlisle Refugee Action Group (CRAG) which welcomed 50 female volunteers to help out. Clothing, makeup, footwear, and mobile phones were donated by people to the asylum seekers.
“We had to make this work and make it humane. It was a difficult time, especially post-Covid."
He said that the reopening of the hotel is a benefit to all in Carlisle, as it adds to the places that offer meals out in the area, joining the Stanwix Tandoori, The Crown Inn, and Spider and Fly.
Liz Mallinson, who was the councillor in the area for much of the time when asylum seekers were present, shared her thoughts on what it was like - and what we can learn. “To be perfectly honest, at times it was rather fraught," she remembered.
“The hotel was absolutely superb and I can't fault the voluntary services in how they worked to provide clothing and personal items for the women.
“Most of the asylum seekers were highly educated. I found that half of them were in the process of being processed, and they all spoke good English, quite a few of them were professional people.
“I was disappointed by some of the reactions from the community, but that does happen, mostly because they don't understand the situation... and fear plays a part.
“I fully understand the fear, but these were all women seeking asylum from persecution.
“From what I have seen, everybody was delighted to be able to welcome them and wish them well.
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“I fully understand the issues with illegal immigrants coming over on boats, but I think the hotel and the asylum seekers we had should not be confused with migrant workers leaving sub-Saharan Africa and other countries in search of better work and opportunities.
“The sooner we sort this out, the better for community cohesion.
“It's a subject that's been kicked into the long grass, but someone needs to be firm and say we have to deal with migration.
“We need to process genuine asylum seekers quickly, and we need the will to return those who don't have a legitimate reason to be in this country.”
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