YouTuber Samuel Leeds paid £1 for Willingham Hotel

Samuel Leeds is a "property entrepreneur" and a social media influencer who is known for his YouTube videos on the housing market.

He's decided to take over the Willingham Hotel. However, the YouTuber has only paid £1 for the right to buy the hotel, a separate house next to it, and several outbuildings.

Before it became a hotel, the building was the Willingham Rectory until the early 1950s. Before that, the British Red Cross were stationed there during the First World War.

The British Red Cross at Willingham Hotel. (Image: Image supplied by Phil Shanahan)

The now-owners of the Willingham Hotel are based in Hong Kong, but they have agreed to sell Mr Leeds the buildings and land within the next 10 years.

In that time, Mr Leeds has to pay the owners a monthly rent. He will be allowed to rent out the rooms and hopes to use his profit to purchase the property and its assets.

The 33-year-old is hoping that his new venture will attract tourists, relocators, and families visiting Cambridge University students.

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He wants to run the hotel as "serviced accommodation", meaning that there will be no staff. He said: "Guests who stay in the property have a virtual check-in. 

"All the contracts are done through DocuSign so that when they get there, they don't need to see anybody. They can let themselves in with key safes. It's all systemised, they pay before they arrive.

"The way we are now in 2024, there's no reason for a hotel to have staff."

Willingham Hotel currently has 26 bedrooms, but Mr Leeds wants to downsize it to 24 to make way for bigger bedrooms with en suites.

He also plans to refurnish the property.

He said: "I am aware that this is a historic building with a really interesting past, so giving it some love and attention also feels like a really positive thing to do."