Twenty-two hotel jobs in Margate, Kent, depend on the outcome of a public inquiry into asylum seekers, a barrister told the inquiry in Margate last week.
David Holgate said: "Jobs here are valuable. They will not survive unless this appeal succeeds."
He was appearing for the Greek owners of the 76-bedroom Nayland Rock hotel, who are challenging Thanet District Council's decision that it must not take in asylum seekers without planning permission.
Last year environmental health officers discovered that 18 bedrooms were occupied by asylum seekers.
The inquiry continues.