New footage from inside Birmingham's Grade II listed Rowton Hotel has revealed an arcade-style video games room, complete with an air hockey table, pool tables, and retro arcade machines. The communal leisure area, intended for use by hundreds of asylum seekers, features games such as Street Fighter, Pac Man, and Mortal Kombat.
Taxpayer-funded amenities
Approximately 300 male inhabitants, many from Afghanistan and Iraq, are thought to be residing at the hotel, with the cost of the facilities covered by the British taxpayer. The video, shared online by a blogger, shows a security guard attempting to stop the recording, but viewers can clearly see a darts board and a football table alongside the arcade machines.
The blogger comments: 'Look at the games they've got in here! There's Pac Man… let me have a go on Mortal Kombat. Look how retro that is. Look at this one, Street Fighter. These ain't cheap are they? We've got darts, we've got pool. We've got it all.'
Background of the hotel
Plans to house 327 asylum seekers at the site were initially rejected in 2021 but later approved. The establishment, formerly the Paragon Hotel, once described itself as one of the 'most beautiful wedding venues in Birmingham'. It could accommodate up to 550 people and featured four elegant function rooms licensed for civil ceremonies. The three-star hotel used to sell rooms for £70 a night before being taken over by Home Office contractors five years ago. Its owners secured a 'lucrative government contract' for 230 rooms, according to a former Rightmove listing.
Government scrutiny and costs
The use of hotels for asylum seekers has faced increasing scrutiny over costs, security, and the provision of high-standard facilities. Similar controversy surrounded the 4-star Britannia International in Canary Wharf, which saw protests. In Epping, Essex, anti-asylum demonstrations occurred at The Bell Hotel after a migrant, Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu, 41, sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman, receiving a one-year jail sentence.
The Government contracts three companies—Serco, Clearsprings, and Mears—to accommodate migrants in 200 hotels, costing £5.77 million per day. Projected costs over the decade to 2029 have surged from £4.5 billion in 2019 to £15.3 billion. Since 2018, over 200,000 asylum seekers have entered the UK via small boat crossings.
Council and Home Office response
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson stated: 'The council does not own, operate, or manage asylum accommodation. The use of hotels is commissioned, funded, and overseen by the Home Office. Any communal facilities shown are existing features of the hotel, not installed by the Council.'
The Home Office commented: 'This government is removing incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain and ramping up removals. We are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation, including ex-military sites. Numbers in asylum hotels have dropped by nearly 20% over the past year and by 45% since the peak under the previous government, reducing support costs by almost £1 billion.'
