A Bibby Stockholm barge advert was put up on Booking.com for '£86 a night with sauna'.
The barge, based in in Portland Port, Dorset, is one of the government's accommodations for asylum seekers which was recently evacuated following a discovery of dangerous Legionella bacteria on board the craft.
Since then, a hoax listing was added to the online travel agency, advertising the barge complete with luxury services, a swimming pool and even some spa facilities.
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Just last week (11 August), 39 asylum seekers were removed from the barge after Legionella bacteria was found in its water system.
The bacteria can cause Legionnaires' disease which, according to the NHS is: "A lung infection you can get from inhaling droplets of water from things like air conditioning or hot tubs. It's uncommon but it can be very serious."
Dorset council reportedly flagged the Legionella test results to the barge contractors as soon as they received them (7 August) and raised questions as to why the evacuation of the people from the craft took a whole four days, the Guardian reports.
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The people were then moved to a hotel and told that will not be back on board for up to five weeks while the water system 'flushed' and retested.
The floating hotel, which has a capacity of 500, now remains empty while additional tests on levels of Legionella bacteria in the water system on the Bibby Stockholm are currently ongoing.
The man who set up the fake listing has since been removed from Booking.com and claimed he had done it 'as a joke', per the BBC.
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He has not been named but told the outlet the listing was 'definitely a joke' and he 'did not think they would take it seriously'.
A screenshot from the now-deleted booking sees the 'New Property Deal' listed as 'Bibby stockholm'.
It also states that breakfast was 'included' in the total cost which, for 'one night' in a 'double room' with 'two adults', totalled to £86.
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According to the BBC, the property listing described the barge as being complete with a garden and views of Dorset's Jurassic coast.
The outlet reports: "It also said towels and bed linen were included on board the craft, as well as a continental, American or vegetarian breakfast 'every morning at the property'".
The listing also added that residents would have access to both a sauna and a swimming pool during their stay.
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On Monday evening (14 August), a BBC journalist was still able to book a double room on the barge for a total of £93.78.
However, that payment has yet to be processed at the time of writing.
The Home Office confirmed it had not made the Bibby Stockholm vessel available for public bookings.
LADbible has reached out to Booking.com for comment.
Topics: News, UK News, World News, Travel
Rhiannon Ingle