Britannia Hotels – owners of the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool – have announced record profits of £33.3million pounds in the year ending 31st March, 2022. This huge surge in profit follows a loss of £9.5m in the prior year.
The newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show the business, which is headquartered in Hale, Cheshire, achieved a massive rise in turnover of £117.8m, up from £38.3m.
According to the Daily Express, the Britannia Group accommodates almost one in ten of the 51,000 migrants currently costing the UK taxpayer £6.8million a day to house in hotel rooms. Currently, almost 400 hotels are currently being used to house asylum seekers. However, a Home Office spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph that the government was ‘committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer.’
Discussing the Metropole, Graham Scott, 65, who runs the famous ‘Scotties Got It’ souvenir shop across the road from the hotel, told The Sun: The Metropole is a beautifully decorated, historic building that kept bringing back holidaymakers who would pop across to spend money in my shop. It was a place of fun and laughter for families whose highlight of the year was their summer holiday. Everyone who stayed there wanted to be there. Now no one does. The only people benefitting from this deal are Britannia. It is changing the nature of the place I love.’
As well as the Metropole -which is currently not accepting bookings from visitors – Britannia Hotels also own other prominent Blackpool hotels, including the Norbreck Castle, the Savoy and the Grand (formerly the Hilton)
In November 2022, Britannia Hotels was rated the worst in the UK for the 10th year in a row, attaining just two stars out of five for categories such as cleanliness, bed comfort and value for money in the annual survey by consumer group Which?. A recent Trip Advisor review (June 2023) for the Norbreck says:
Disgusting place. Don’t waste your money!
Everything! Upon arrival Check in was OK, the room was standard, the bed however hadn’t been changed, the bedding was dirty so had to request clean bedding. I stayed here with my 11 year old daughter. Sleep, what sleep? A man and woman who where both drunk, talking loudly on the landing to other people in other rooms from 12.10am, up and down the stairs and corridor for hours, then started fighting and arguing amongst themselves, until eventually the security arrived who then phoned the police, and arrested the man, this went on until 3.45am! Not what you want when you’re trying to sleep! Had 3 hours sleep tops! Bed extremely uncomfortable. Hotel is filthy, breakfast hall is dirty. Amusement arcade was shut and cinema closed so nothing for my daughter to do. Entertainment was awful. Overall it wasn’t a pleasant stay at all and I won’t ever return!
Date of stay: June 2023
