Homeless families evicted from UK hotel for Beyonce’s tour – media – RT Games & Culture
As many as 30 homeless families currently staying at a Travelodge hotel in a London suburb will be removed at the end of the month to make way for paying guests in the city for pop star Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance’ world tour, it was reported on Tuesday. The Guardian.
Currently occupying 100 rooms – two-thirds of the hotel’s space – with up to five people per room, families whose bookings run out during the five-day tour at nearby Tottenham Hotspur stadium will be moved to “alternative temporary accommodation”, as the council did not extend their stay, according to the outlet.
Families said the moving process was “incredibly disruptive” and complained that the council often waits until the last day of a reservation before making another one. Travelodge allows bookings for a maximum of 28 days at a time.
However, Travelodge stressed that it was not their decision to remove the families, but that of the council. A spokesperson told the Guardian that the channel currently has “great availability” at its Enfield location and nearby hotels for Beyonce concert dates, adding that “Advice is welcome to book” the rooms again.
A spokesman for Enfield council told the Guardian it understood “Hotel accommodation not ideal for families” and claimed to be lobbying for “National action to close the fundamental lack of affordable housing.
The council reportedly feared Beyonce’s tour would have a negative impact on families staying at the Travelodge, although families who spoke to The Guardian seemed more worried about the council’s failure to renew their reservations in a timely manner. A family is said to have been left homeless after their booking ended last week, while a mother-of-three was left in limbo for 12 hours, stuck outside the hotel with all her possessions, until the council sends the family to another Travelodge.
While hotels are legally limited to six weeks rental per occupant, figures released earlier this month revealed that more than 1,630 families in England were housed by councils in hotels and B&Bs beyond this limit in the last quarter of 2022 – the most since 2003. The figures also represent the largest quarter-on-quarter increase since the country began keeping records, up 35% from the third quarter of 2022.
The London suburbs are ground zero for the UK’s housing crisis, and most of the families housed in the Travelodge who spoke to The Guardian said they were left homeless when a landlord evicted them in order increase the rent or sell the building. The number of families staying in area hotels has increased by 180% between 2021 and 2022 and Enfield Council alone currently houses 200 families in commercial hotels.
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