I was offered £563k to house migrants in my hotel - this is why I said no

A hotel owner in a much-loved seaside resort claims to have turned down a "staggering" offer to house asylum seekers. Gary Allen, owner of the Hatters Hotel in Skegness, said he declined the opportunity to house 54 migrants in his hotel because "we want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem".

The 63-year-old, originally from Nottingham, told the Express: "They offered us a staggering amount of money - £563,000 a year - but we turned it down. Financially, it would've been brilliant. We could have been sat in another country just living it up." OYO, the organisation Gary said made the offer, has been contacted for comment.

In Skegness, Lincolnshire, Gary is just one of a number of business owners to share that 2025 has been an exceptionally hard year.

He has decided to sell up and claimed the housing of asylum seekers in some hotels in the town has deterred people from visiting.

"We lost loads of business, loads of people cancelled," Gary said. "[Skegness] has been a holiday destination for decades and then all of a sudden you chuck 500 young males in. It just destroyed the place.

"People are put off by it, it doesn't matter how many times people try and sugarcoat it, they are the cold hard facts."

He added: "A lot of people have made a lot of money out of the illegal immigrants, the hotels etc. but we want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem, which is why we turned it down."

Gary has already closed the 29-room hotel part of his business but is continuing to welcome guests in the bar.

He said visitors to Skegness are "struggling" and spending less than before due to the cost of living crisis which he described as a "tipping point".

Gary also cited Chancellor Rachel Reeves' National Insurance Contribution hike as one of the reasons for shutting the hotel.

"We couldn't sustain it, it was getting impossible," Gary explained, adding energy prices rising to a "colossal" £7,000-per-month as another factor.

The businessman, who is now hoping to start a rental business in France, says his hotel is just one of a number going up for sale in the area.

He said since opening in August 2021, he has been unable to make a profit. He explained: "Not one [year of profit] because we were constantly spending on it, constantly.

"It's a shame but it's not [just] us [struggling], it's everybody, and it's not a case of feeling sorry for yourself. You've just got to get on and move on and try and sort something else out."

Gary said the building was "like God's waiting room" when he bought it in 2021 for £700,000.

He added: "We invested £300,000 of our own money in converting it and it's just been an absolute waste of time.

"We've just reduced it [the asking price] by £300,000 [to £650,000]."

The Government says it will end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by 2029.

The number of migrants crossing the English Channel in a single year has just passed 20,000 in record time.