BBC West also heard from several counter protesters.
Ben Brockett said: “I think there’s a lot of misinformation going around about immigration and asylum seekers in particular.
“I think a lot of people have a right to be angry, but I think it’s being pointed in the wrong direction.”
Elizabeth Stanley added: “I think it’s important we look for hope and love in our communities.”
“People are scared and I get that. The problem is this tendency to blame a convenient scapegoat and the people in the hotel are noticeable, so attention focuses on them.”
Lisa Spivey, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, voiced concern over the symbolic choice of Shire Hall as the protest’s endpoint.
“While we respect the right to peaceful protest, it is regrettable that demonstrators have chosen to gather outside our council offices where our staff work hard day in and day out to deliver essential services for residents but where no decisions relating to the Home Office run asylum scheme are taken,” she said.