Portsmouth Ibis hotel used to house homeless people during lockdown will reopen next month

The Ibis Budget in Fratton Way, Southsea, will open to guests on October 5, with its previous tenants expected to be rehoused by the end of September.

Along with the already-reopened Ibis Portsmouth in Winston Churchill Avenue, Somers Town, the hotel became a safe space for the city's homeless in April.

Government told councils they must find homes for all rough sleepers during the outbreak of coronavirus.

However, the lockdown period was fraught with issues as residents living in the next-door Vista Apartments reported incidents of anti-social behaviour by neighbours to the police.

Rob Shaffrey, secretary of the Vista Leaseholders’ Association, said some residents were unable to sleep as a result.

The 62-year-old said: ‘People are looking forward to getting their lives back to normal without the loss of sleep and constant disturbance.

‘At its height there were mass street fights in the middle of Goldsmith Avenue at two or three in the morning.’

Portsmouth council revealed this week that homes for 100 rough sleepers had already been found in shared homes and private rented accommodation across the city.

A further 110 people will be moved into former student homes in Elm Grove and St Michael’s Street in Southsea.

Giles Mattern, general manager at the Ibis Portsmouth said the group was ‘proud to support the work of the council’ over the last few months.

‘We are a hospitality business; opening our doors to provide safe accommodation, extending care and connecting with individuals is what we do,’ he said.

‘We are now delighted to be returning to normal business, to welcome visitors to the city and locals looking for a place to stay, meet or work.

‘Both hotels will be All Safe accredited meaning they exceed local sanitary and prevention measures and adhere to Accor’s global standards which are independently audited.

‘All cleaning and operational protocols are in place to ensure that our guests feel comfortable in booking a much-needed break and change of scene.’

Portsmouth City Council will be responsible for cleaning both hotels, but it is not known yet how much this will cost.

A spokesman said: ‘The council was required, under its contract, to undertake a clean-up operation once all of the homeless people had left.

‘This has been completed at Ibis Portsmouth. A similar exercise will take place once guests have left the Ibis Budget.

‘The clean-up will be done by our own Green and Clean team so there are no external cleaning costs. The final costs for clean-up and repairs won't be known until both sites are finished.’

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