Homeless families are being housed in a north London travellodge before being moved out after a Beyoncé concert begins at the end of the month after the local council failed to extend their booking.
The Guardian understands 30 families face being removed from a Travelodge in Enfield and placed in alternative temporary accommodation after their rooms have been booked by other people during Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour in London. Beyoncé is scheduled to play five nights at the nearby Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from May 29 to June 4.
Around 100 rooms, two-thirds of the hotel, are currently booked by the local council. They are occupied by families and individuals who described themselves as homeless to Enfield Council, some with four or five people living in a single room.
The Guardian understands that the council failed to increase bookings for the 30 families that were terminated while the concert was running, meaning many of them will have to leave.
Travelodge rooms could only be booked for 28 days at a time and families had previously been moved to other accommodation at short notice before the council again closed the rooms by people attending large local events. Failed to book from Families told the Guardian that local authorities would often wait until the last day of their booking before making another booking.
Families who have been temporarily moved out of hotels say the process has been incredibly disruptive. As well as taking all their belongings with them, they say their children disappeared from school.
The Guardian understands that Enfield Council had private concerns about the impact Beyoncé’s upcoming tour could have on families living in Travelodge.
Colette Collington, 42, has been living at Enfield Travelodge since the beginning of the month. She shares a room with her four-year-old daughter and two-year-old twin sons, who have autism. She was told on Monday that she was being moved to the Travelodge in Hertfordshire on Thursday and would not return to Enfield until June 4.
He said, ‘I don’t sleep like that, but this news is very disturbing. This is not good for me, my mental health and my two youngest children who need stability because of their additional needs. Whatever environment we move to, it takes time to settle down. They have to stick to the same routine. It will be very distressing for them,” she said.
“It’s crazy how the council manages it, it’s like a potluck,” she said.
Last Monday, she had to leave her room with all her belongings and wait in the hotel lobby as the council failed to extend her stay at the hotel. “It was really upsetting. I suffer from anxiety so I was having panic attacks and I literally cried. She was finally booked into another hotel room the same day.
Another family was forced to move after bookings ran out last week. A mother of three was left stranded outside a hotel with all her belongings before being sent to a travel lodge in Hertfordshire.
Families have been staying at the hotel for months, far exceeding the legal limit of six weeks. Piotr Rembikowski, a wheelchair user who lost his private rented property in the fire, spoke to the Guardian in April. He has been living in the hotel with his wife and two sons since last August.
Collington was made homeless after his private landlord raised the rent. “The biggest shock for me was to come here and see all the other families. I thought I would be alone but then you come here and see it,” she said.
“I’m grateful I have a roof over my head but it’s cramped. Both of my sons still drink formula. I have to wash both my son’s milk bottles in the bathroom sink.
,[The council] Knows that I have two disabled children and yet they thought it fit to put us in a hotel.”
A spokesperson for Enfield Council said: “In the event that Travelodge is not able to provide rooms for individuals and families, we will do our best to find other suitable accommodation with the least amount of disruption.
“We recognize that hotel accommodation is not ideal for families, which is why we continue to advocate for national action to address the fundamental lack of affordable housing.”
A spokesperson for Travelodge said: “We have been working with Enfield Council for many years to provide short term accommodation. All parties understand that this is a temporary arrangement until the local authority can find a more permanent solution.
“We currently have enough availability at our Enfield and surrounding hotels for dates that councils are welcome to book. Our rooms are subject to availability but we will always do our best to support Enfield Council where we can Can
