Premier Inn Housing Homeless

[UpsyDaisy6789]

As a family of four we very often have short breaks away in Premier Inn. Mostly just 1 night at a time, occasionally up to 3 nights at a time.

We've noticed on a few occasions now, Premier Inns seem to be housing homeless local families/individuals. On our most recent break of 3 nights this particular hotel seemed to be mainly housing homeless people. Some with obvious substance issues. There was one family with a very small baby, the man in the couple obviously very volatile and uncomfortable to witness/be around his manner to the young woman.

No one seemed to dress in the morning, all just downstairs just rolled out of bed in various dishevelled states.

It all made us feel really uncomfortable to be honest and now considering cancelling future breaks we have booked.

Honestly, if a local council are willing to fund a hotel to house homeless I'm impressed if anything. It's not that I'm not all for them having that help, especially the young couple with a tiny baby. I can see locally how much homelessness has increased and that there is a rising need for help.

However, with this most recent stay I think the right thing would be to now close that particular hotel for general bookings. We honestly felt that we were holidaying in a homeless shelter and it was really uncomfortable for us and we were particularly unhappy with some of the behaviour around our young kids.

Also can't help feeling awful for feeling this way, because I'm also very glad for them they're getting help. Feel really uncomfortable and conflicted about how we felt. Fed all this back to Premier Inn when received their usual "how was your stay" email and they've just totally ignored it.

Just wondered if anyone else had noticed similar and if it had/would put you off?

If you want a nice night away then you don’t book a Premier Inn 🫣 don’t get me wrong, I stay in them regularly, but only because they’re cheap, clean, convenient and do a good breakfast.

I’m not there for the atmosphere and I don’t give a toss about the other guests as long as they’re not noisy.

I’m assuming it’s temporary housing for families? Due to a shortage of council homes?

how shit must it be to be in a hotel rather than a flat, nowhere to do your washing, let the kids play. Nowhere to keep a fridge or make a snack.
Must be awful.

You don’t know anyone in a hotel. You wouldn’t let anyone from a hotel around your children in anyway other than being at the next table or in the next room.

Snobby. Choose another chain hotel.

These holier than thou posts are ridiculous. If I book a hotel - be that a Premier Inn or the Ritz I want to feel safe. eg I have stayed alone at two Premier Inns recently to attend funerals. I think the hotel should inform guests if they are accepting “irregular” customers so that someone can decide to stay elsewhere.

And are some posters seriously claiming that if they stayed in a hotel - and the reason is irrelevant - they would not mind at all if homeless were housed there? What if they were to turn up at a (very MN) Mark Warner resort and found that although they had paid €€€€€ the other guests were being put up by the councils there?

Furthermore a few years ago a businessperson booked out an entire (I think it was) Premier Inn in Bristol for homeless people at Christmas. Very nice and all that, but the hotel said it was not fair on their staff who should not be expected to deal with alcohol/substance misuse and mental health and possibly violence issues.

We stayed in a chain motel in Florida which was housing mainly people who'd been made homeless by the hurricane. It was a different atmosphere to be sure, but they were the ones going through something, not us. It did us no harm to see how lucky we are that this is not our life, both the kids and DH & I.

There's nothing to stop you boycotting Premier Inn for your future short breaks, but I think if you switch to staying at another chain it could as easily happen again there. And YAB a bit unreasonable to name and shame them on this thread. Do you have evidence that this is a particular problem in Premier Inns, or are you extrapolating from a single data point?

I don’t disagree with you, but those types of service are costly to run and that cost is paid by the local authority. An unsupported hotel room is much, much cheaper and as ever tax payers don’t want to pay the cost of decent support for people they consider undeserving.

We stayed in one last year,close to Chessington and it was grim. Filthy mattresses in the car park and security on each level. Awful and couldn't wait to leave.

I think you’re mixing issues together here to be honest.

Are you saying that you would be okay with the other guests having tiny babies, being volatile, drunk/on drugs if they were paying hotel guests rather than homeless people?

Actually they are all people. People with different life choices and opportunities, people with different ways of living but still people. You may not want to have breakfast with them, but suggesting they are in some way “less than” is where it all starts.

You don’t know how you would live your life if your circumstances had been different. If you had been neglected or abused, had significant trauma, had no family or social support, no money to throw at adversity, no access to education. You just don’t know. The people housed in these hotels all have stories, those stories often explain how they’ve ended up where they are. There but for the grace of God.

So 2/3 interactions like this and you were ok. The third you felt uncomfortable? Surely that’s just hotel life? Probably the 4th time will again be fine.

Obviously, non-homeless people never drink too much alcohol or use recreational drugs at Christmas.

Agree. I would definitely not want to stay in a hotel with a homeless drug addict in the next room. In fact, I wouldn't want to be there even if i was paid never mind expecting me to pay for ir the privilege!!!

There I said it. Flame me for being honest.

They should be in homeless shelters NOT hotels

Well perhaps you could go and build a homeless hostel or convert your own home into one? Or it’s that “someone else’s problem “

No. Reading the various replies has actually made it clearer in my mind why I feel so awful for finding it so uncomfortable. I really don't have a problem with them being homeless which is why I was aware but not put off the previous times. I found the volatile/aggressive behaviour, the obvious drug use, the feeling something may kick off etc uncomfortable.

There was a near-identical thread about a month ago.

As I said on there, I run a food bank for a living and we often find ourselves having to support people who are housed in hotels like this, and “temporary” could last months or even years. They are not allowed cooking facilities in their room, and often have no washing facilities for clothes either. It’s certainly better than being homeless but it presents very significant challenges.

Good lord! This would ruin your vacation.

This why the uk is in a mess

Not homeowners or hotel guests problem.

We all have problems and it is up to us to deal with them, not to be a burden to others who are nothing to do with you.

And you don’t think paying hotel guests can behave aggressively, use drugs, kick off? Only homeless people?

If your issue is with the BEHAVIOUR, then you should have reported that to the hotel just like you would for any guest. We stayed in a hotel last year and reported the room next door to us as the guests were sniffing coke in the corridor, I couldn’t care less if they were homeless or live in a £10 million house, I’m reporting the behaviour, I’m not happy to be around that behaviour, regardless of their financial status.

Would you be less uncomfortable if it had been a man with a Rolex watch, a Bentley parked outside and the keys to a mansion in his pocket blatantly using drugs and behaving aggressively?

I agree, but they are expensive to run and tax payers don’t want to pay for it, so hotels it is.

I’m following an account on IG (allegedly) from a travel advisor for very very rich people.
She recreates some of the calls she has with them.

One of them was a client complaining that the other guests were making her look poor. Please can you sort it out?
I thought this was a crazy idea. But actually the OP is sort of doing the same.

And the answer is ‘well she is entitled to.’ If she feels the environment has changed, isn’t really meeting her standards, then she should find another hotel (just like client I mentioned above btw).
You can wonder why PI is happy to house people that are on the street. Especially as some people WILL be reacting like the OP. But again, their brand, their choice.

Fwiw I’ve made a similar decision with Travel Lodge after staying in a couple of their hotels around london. It wasn’t that I saw homeless people. But it was the various (room) doors with holes in them etc… Once is a mistake/isolated incident. Two or three times and I’ve written them off.

EDIT
As I started my post but ended up sending it a bit later and missing OP’s last post.
I get where you’re coming from @UpsyDaisy6789 . If you’re feeling uncomfortable/stressed due to unruly behaviour, fair enough.
As I said above, I’ve basically done the same thing years ago with Travel Lodge.

Then we need to give money for that to happen.

I don’t recall any hotel doing a background check on me when I booked. I’d feel safer with a homeless heroin user than a handsy tech bro with a coke habit. But I don’t get to choose who else is staying in the hotel. What I can choose is to keep my mind on my own business and report any concerns to staff.