UK hospitality industry offers hotel rooms and jobs to Ukrainian refugees

A hotel owner in Shropshire has called on fellow hoteliers to open their hotels to homeless Ukrainians.

Mike Matthews (pictured above), who has owned the 70-bedroom Prince Rupert hotel in Shrewsbury for 26 years, told The Caterer he had been deeply affected by the tragic situation of the Ukrainian people following the invasion of their country by Russia.

“Their world has been turned upside down in a matter of days and I believe the UK hotel sector can help,” he said.

While he recognised that the 140,000 or so people who have signed up the Homes for Ukraine scheme have good intentions, he also believed that the programme is highly complex and fraught with difficulties.

“We are talking about mostly women and children who have gone through a really traumatic experience and may have no idea what has happened to their husbands, sons or homes. This is something really challenging for the average household to deal with, whereas the hotel sector is used to welcoming unknown people through its doors every day.”

As a result, Matthews has urged every hotel in the country to offer bedrooms to refuges.

“There are 10,000 hotels in the UK,” he said. “Imagine if every hotel made five bedrooms available, that would be 50,000 rooms which could potentially home 100,000 Ukrainians."

In particular, Matthews urged the big hotel brands such as Premier Inn, Travelodge and Hilton to get involved in such a scheme. He has already offered five bedrooms at the Prince Rupert to refugees and intends to offer more if he can.

Matthews said that the housing of refugees in hotels would make it easier for local councils, mental health services and other organisations to coordinate, rather than deal with individual households.

He also suggested that the £350 being offered by the government to households to take part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme should instead be used to pay for essential items, such as clothing and toiletries, if refugees are taken in by hotels.

As well as offering a home for refugees, Matthews said he would also be able to provide jobs for around 20 in the hotel and at a soon-to-open adjacent tea room.

“Like every hospitality business across the country we really struggle to get staff across all departments and providing jobs for Ukrainians will help both us and them.”

Wider hospitality initiatives

In Cambridgeshire, chef Steven Saunders of the Willow Tree in Bourn, is also working on a scheme to link refugees fleeing Ukraine with hospitality business. Together with the owner of the Willow Tree, Shaina Galvin, he has launched the Odessa Project and will travel to Krakow in Poland on Sunday (20 March) to liaise with families who want to move to live and work in the UK.

“We have already had offers of 638 rooms from hotels willing to provide accommodation and jobs for what could potentially be nearly 1,500 people,” he said.

In Krakow, Saunders will meet with a family comprising of the father who is a chef, the mother who is a teacher and their two children. “I hope to be able to arrange for them to come to the UK, but the bureaucracy involved is frustrating. I am talking to the Home Office all the time in attempt to speed up the process.”

Saunders said he hoped more hospitality businesses will be prepared to help offer rooms and employment and suggested that the cost to companies to bring refugees to the UK to pay for travel and necessary checks will be around £600-700 per person.

Larger operators step up

Meanwhile, a number of other hospitality operators have confirmed their intentions to offer employment to refugees who have fled from Ukraine.

Pret A Manager said it could provide jobs for 50 people and has set up a Ukrainian Employment Programme to help fast-track refugees seeking work in the UK. The programme is an extension of the work undertaken by the coffee shop giant through the Pret Foundation during the past decade in employing refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Iran and Yemen.

As well as providing employment, Pret will emotional and financial support, including one-to-one counselling, English tuition, vouchers to cover household items and assistance with finding housing.

Guy Meakin, managing director, Pret A Manger UK & Ireland, said: "The Pret Foundation has a strong legacy of helping refugees into work at Pret for more than 10 years from countries all across the globe. Given the urgency of the situation facing Ukraine, we’ve now extended our existing support with the Pret Foundation to help Ukrainian refugees being displaced by this war.

“Along with employment opportunities, we’re offering access to financial and emotional support, and will be assisting with housing where we can. We’re moving to get everything in place as quickly as possible and urge any interested people to contact the Pret Foundation. We’re still exploring other ways that we can play a small part in helping the victims of this war.”

Mildreds, which operates six plant-based restaurants in London, is also offering refugees assistance in securing jobs through its Careers for Ukraine project.

The scheme will offer up to £550 for individuals to travel to the UK and find accommodation, free on-shift staff meals, flexible working schedules and a “positive, honest and kind environment”.

Sam Anstey, managing director of Mildreds, said the company had vacancies at all levels of its operation: "The Mildreds team have been doing their best to connect with people in Ukraine and Poland where the refugee situation is deteriorating. We are able to move quickly to support those needing help where we can."

Oksanna Williams, general manager of Mildreds, is herself from the town of Poltava in central Ukraine. She said: “Every day people find great courage and bravery to stand up to the war inflicted upon us with everything they have to protect peace in Europe.

"My parents and friends are helping families who have nothing left from their houses and they’ve lost loved ones. Ukraine needs support like never before as they are fighting for freedom and humanity.”

A group of hospitality leaders will be hosting a lunch event in London next month hoping to raise more than £100,000 for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine. Find more details or buy your tickets here.

Image: Mike Matthews and hotel manager Charlie Green at the Prince Rupert hotel