Over the next three years, 300 asylum seekers will probably be accommodated in the Van der Valk hotel in Uden. This is not the only hotel that accommodates asylum seekers and status holders. Why do hotels do this and what does it get them?
Hotels are increasingly accommodating asylum seekers. A hotel enters into an agreement with the municipality for this purpose and the COA checks which asylum seekers are suitable to stay there. According to the Royal Horeca Netherlands (KHN), the compensation for an overnight stay is 45 euros per person per day and the compensation for food and drinks is 30 euros per person per day. The Van der Valk hotel in Uden will probably receive 29 million to accommodate asylum seekers for three years. This is evident from research by the Financieel Dagblad.
Money is an important argument for hotels to accommodate asylum seekers. According to Rob van Ginneken, college lecturer at the hotel course at Breda University of Applied Sciences, this makes sense. “Many hotel rooms are empty during the low season. It is interesting for hotel owners to have additional staff of asylum seekers. Or the other way around: if you lose a lot of rooms to asylum seekers, you can ask more money for the other rooms.” According to Van Ginneken, the price must be in proportion to the product and quality.
Staff shortage
If you want to receive asylum seekers as a hotel, they must have their own cooking facilities or they must be provided with food and drinks. “That could be a problem with the current staff shortage. On the other hand, you don’t have to arrange clean linen and towels for these guests every day.”
Another advantage of receiving asylum seekers, according to Van Ginneken, is that as a hotel you know exactly where you stand. “It is very easy to plan, because you know when you have a certain number of asylum seekers in your home. This means you can give your staff a guarantee of hours.”
No damage to image
Not only money and the security of guests are important reasons for hotels to receive asylum seekers. “It can even contribute to your image if you take your social responsibility.”
Large-scale renovations were planned in both the hotel in Uden and the Mövenpick hotel in Den Bosch, where asylum seekers are to be accommodated. These will be postponed until after the reception period.
In addition to these hotels, there are more Brabant hotels that receive or have received asylum seekers. Hotel Glow in Eindhoven previously received 65 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers and forty status holders. Meerwijk Castle in Den Bosch accommodated around 75 refugees for three months and refugees can stay at the Fletcher Hotel De Kempen in Reusel for a maximum of one night as an emergency solution.
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Local residents want asylum reception in the Van der Valk hotel to be stopped.