PEABODY — A report from the Health Department on complaints and inspections at the three Route 1 Peabody hotels sheltering migrant families has raised further concerns about living conditions at these locations over the past two years.
The documents shared by the department list pest infestations, raw sewage leakage, rotting food, and other sanitary issues in rooms at the Holiday Inn, the SpringHill Suites, and the Extended Stay hotels.
This follows a request from City Councilor-at-Large Anne Manning-Martin for Police Chief Thomas Griffin to compile data on calls, arrests, and charges related to these hotels since the beginning of 2023.
After discussing the findings at the Feb. 13 City Council meeting, Manning-Martin requested additional data from other departments, including the fire department, Health Department, Building Inspection, and Human Services Department.
Fire Chief Jay Dowling’s report compiled all calls his department received from the three hotels since the beginning of 2023.
According to the report, there were 144 calls from the Holiday Inn, 80 from the Extended Stay, and 54 from SpringHill Suites. The majority of the 278 total calls were medical emergencies, with 178 requiring an EMS response.
As explained in Griffin’s February report, only a few rooms at SpringHill Suites were being used for shelter before the hotel stopped participating in the program on Dec. 31, 2023. Currently, 15 rooms at the Extended Stay are occupied for shelter purposes.
These two hotels are primarily used by non-shelter guests, making it difficult to determine whether calls or complaints are related to shelter residents.
The Holiday Inn, however, is being used entirely for emergency shelter purposes, according to Griffin.
Inspection records from the Health Department reveal safety violations at all three locations.
A partially redacted document from June 2024 details conditions at SpringHill Suites, where a mother and small child were housed.
“I entered the hotel room and noticed an immediate foul odor and sanitary concerns,” inspector Randy Suckney wrote in the report. “While there, I observed food and food particles everywhere in the hotel room, including inside nightstand drawers, the kitchen sink, underneath cabinets rotting, and on the floor.”
An inspection of four units at the Extended Stay in December 2023 revealed broken dishwashers, mold, and duct tape being used in the food storage area, according to the report.
The report also includes two letters from Director of Health and Human Services Sharon Cameron ordering the Holiday Inn to address pest infestations.
The first, dated Oct. 29, 2024, ordered the hotel to treat the entire building for rodents, cockroaches, and bedbugs after inspectors found pests in multiple rooms. One occupant said they saw live cockroaches daily, while another placed a towel under their door to keep out mice.
The second letter, sent on Oct. 3, 2024, to the Holiday Inn, cited the improper application of pesticides.
“Inspector Suckney learned that the staff person who applied the treatment is not a licensed pesticide applicator, that the occupants were allowed to return to the treated room two hours after the application, and that no preparation of occupant belongings was performed prior to the treatment,” Cameron wrote.
The reports highlight concerns among city officials about the strain these shelters have placed on emergency responders and municipal departments, particularly given the lack of preparation time or resources from the state.
With Gov. Maura Healey now informing cities and towns of plans to relocate the sheltered families by Dec. 31, 2025, officials see a possible resolution.
“We didn’t get notice that the migrants were being located there, but we are getting a notice of the end date,” Manning-Martin said. “We can all collectively work together to be participants and oversee that partnership to that end.”
Manning-Martin requested a Municipal Safety Committee meeting to discuss the departmental reports in detail.
“It’s not a good spot to stay in these hotels for long periods of time, especially for the kids,” Griffin said. “It’s definitely a good goal to get the families out of the shelters and into more long-term, stable housing.”
