Hotel Scheme 'Will Cut Rough Sleeping After Virus'

Giving rough sleepers rooms in hotels should lead to a significant long-term reduction in rough sleeping after the coronavirus outbreak, says a charity for homeless people. Around 2,000 people have been brought in off the streets in England and put into Travelodges and budget hotels. St Mungo's charity says it is an unprecedented opportunity to stop people returning to the street. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52332453

Homeless Travelodge Residents Turned Out On To Street

Hundreds of residents of the budget hotel chain Travelodge, including homeless families housed there by local councils, have been turned out on to the street after it closed its premises. The chain issued letters to all residents asking them to leave as soon as possible as they were “temporarily closing the hotels until further notice” in the light of the UK government’s extended coronavirus physical distancing guidelines. This appeared to be in defiance of government guidance that said that hotels looking after homeless families who had been placed in temporary accommodation at in hotels should not close. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/homeless-travelodge-residents-turned-out-on-to-street-coronavirus

‘Travelodge Families’: The New Face of the Housing Crisis

Budget hotel chains are being paid thousands of pounds a year to accommodate the homeless as local councils attempt to tackle Britain’s growing housing crisis. The percentage of homeless families in hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation is now at its highest level for a decade, government figures show. And, as a result, spending by Britain’s largest cities on so-called “bed and breakfast accommodation” has increased by 25 per cent the past year to £91.1m.  Part of the rise is fuelled by councils having to place people in budget hotel chains such as Travelodge while they seek a more permanent solution.  Read more on the Independent website.