The UK Home Office has confirmed the closure of 20 more asylum hotels across England, including facilities in Reading, Witney, and Sharnbrook.
The government is transitioning migrants into alternative large-scale accommodation, such as former military bases.
National hotel placement for asylum seekers has dropped to its lowest level since 2022, down sharply from a peak of 56,000 individuals in September 2023.
Officials are seeking planning permissions to use three Ministry of Defence sites in Bicester, Barnham, and Linton-on-Ouse, which could eventually house up to 3,750 migrants.
The latest closures follow an initial phase in April that decommissioned 11 hotels, saving taxpayers £170 million.
Among the newly closed hotels, the Sharnbrook Hotel in Bedfordshire ceased operations in June after opening to asylum seekers in 2023.
The 16th-century Mercure George Hotel in Reading and the Oxford Witney Hotel also ended their housing contracts.
Government Aims to Phase Out Hotel Use
Border security and asylum minister Alex Norris said, "This is a system being brought back under control."
Norris highlighted regional progress, aiming to eliminate hotel usage entirely by the end of the current Parliament.
"We promised to close every asylum hotel and hand them back to communities. That is exactly what we are doing here in the East of England," Norris said.
He emphasized that the policy moves people from hotels into centralized public properties.
"Twenty more hotels are now closed across England, hotel numbers have more than halved since their peak, and we are moving people into large, basic sites that are a far cry from the hotels the last Government left us with," Norris added.
The minister affirmed that operations would continue across the country until all hotels are closed.
Local representatives have expressed support for the strategic realignment.
Richard Fuller, MP for North Bedfordshire, confirmed the termination of the Sharnbrook Hotel contract ahead of its June closure.
"Whatever your view on immigration, most people will agree that continued use of hotels for housing migrants is not the right thing and I am pleased the Home Secretary is making this change," Fuller said.
