We fixed the Park Hotel’s website.
March 2022
For more than a year, more than 30 recognised refugees and legal asylum seekers had been locked inside Melbourne’s Park Hotel by Australia’s Department of Home Affairs. They had little fresh air, many reported their medical problems weren’t being treated, and others found maggots and mould in their food.
They had been in Australia’s detention system for up to 9 years – some since arriving as children.
Opening a window into the Park.
Refugees at the Park were hidden not just by locked doors and tinted windows, but by words. Reference to their prison as a “hotel” suggested they were receiving luxury treatment. Nothing to see here! You should have it so lucky, right?
This confusion was assisted by the fact that the Park’s website mysteriously disappeared when they started locking up innocent refugees there.
So we decided to make a new website for them! You’re welcome, Park Hotel!
Step inside Melbourne’s most exclusive hotel.
Using the familiar look and feel and smooth, chirpy tone of hotel websites, parkhotel.melbourne presented the truth of what was happening while pointing out the ridiculousness of calling this a hotel.
The site provided links to articles and interviews, centering the refugees voice.
It also provided essential facts about the rights of asylum seekers, and links to easy ways for the public to take action – from attending protests to signing the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s petition, to contacting the Minister For Home Affairs directly to express their concerns.
The website also filled a hole by providing one place that aggregated all key information about the Park, and campaigns by key activist stakeholders – something that had previously not existed. This made it easier for the public to educate themselves and find ways to get involved.
Reaching the public.
If we were going to make a hotel website, we figured it only made sense that we should also try to attract guests!
So we created this social ad, focussing on the “luxury price” paid to detain people in the Park.
In addition to promoting this video to general audiences, we targeted social media users interested in “holidays and travel”. This exposed our message to audiences who might not normally follow the refugee debate.
A happy ending, way too late.
Over a number of releases throughout March and April 2022, all remaining refugees were freed from the Park Hotel Detention Centre. Some moved into community detention, while others found new homes overseas.
As of 7 April 2022, the Park Hotel stands empty.
But more confirmed refugees remain locked up in other parts of Australia’s detention system.
