Why Do Indian-Americans Own So Many Hotels?

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Indian-Americans run about 40% of America’s hospitality industry – and 70% of those Indian-Americans have the last name “Patel.” While the name Patel has become synonymous with business, especially in the South Asian community, that reputation hasn’t come easy, and hasn’t always come with a lot of rewards.

Learn more here:

The New York Times. “A Patel Motel Cartel.” http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/04/magazine/a-patel-motel-cartel.html

NPR. “Here to Stay: How Indian-Born Innkeepers Revolutionized America’s Motels.” http://www.npr.org/2016/03/05/469180918/here-to-stay-how-indian-born-innkeepers-revolutionized-americas-motels

Colorlines. “How a Staple of Americana Became the Indian-American Dream.” http://www.colorlines.com/articles/how-staple-americana-became-indian-american-dream

Music tracks courtesy of APM and Audio Network.

Presented by: Sana Saeed
Written by: Sana Saeed
Edited by: Brian Joseph
Animations by: Debbie Schedivy
Produced by: Sana Saeed

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41 COMMENTS

  3. The last time I stayed in a Patel hotel . When I turned the lights off my room was overrun with mice. I went to the office but of course it was closed, and no one answered until I broke a window then they came and moved me to a new room. He said that he was going to call the police, I said if you want to call the police I will give you a better reason to call the police, he went back to bed.

  4. Great video. I started watching your videos last year as a beginner before giving stock and crypto market a trial. I was able to make $17,300 in one month with a capital of $4,000 trading with an experience expert who guided me through out my trading.

  11. اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ زَوَالِ نِعْمَتِكَ ، وَتَحَوُّلِ عَافِيَتِكَ ، وَفُجَاءَةِ نِقْمَتِكَ ، وَجَمِيعِ سَخَطِكَ

  14. Indians are on the rise. Not just Hotels but Tech. In my neighborhood there’s a good 70-80% are present, I really feel like I’m in India, though my area has a lot of tech companies that provide sponsorship I guess, it’s really interesting, 🤨 hats off to them. 👍🏽

  18. The experience I’ve had with an Indian-owned motel was bad. I booked a motel for a friend online for her and when she showed up and gave them her booking #, they claimed it wasn’t in the system and charged her again. Thinking that it was an error and they’d refund it back or the site would refund it, she went ahead and paid them again. She wanted me to go and help her explain to them she’d been charged twice and soon as we walked in a man greeted with a bad attitude and would barely let us talk and told us to “be quiet” and come back tomorrow and talk to the manager and he was the owner!?! I told him not to talk to us that way, there was no reason for it and as a place of business he shouldn’t have disrespected us like that for no reason. We leave and he goes out the side door and starts yelling at us again and was referring to us as “he’s” and would just talk in circles around the whole issue at hand. Needless to say, we talk to someone else that had stayed there and they had done the same thing to them.

  21. 1. Patels / MARWA have a business gene dating back 1000 of years from India. btw the name SHAH indicates a significant Iranian/Parthian influence in the state of Gujjar–raat.
    2. Opportunity in America for immigrants.
    3. Sheer hard work..sweating the balls..turning around dead end lower level isolated businesses.
    4. NETWORK OF SUPPORT AND FINANCE inside the community…HAWLA FINANCE..when mainstream banks refuse to do business.

  23. well, then have the facts that if "cursed" to be born in USA (especially non-color) you can not do the same. You can't own anything in other countries, but… everyone is allowed to buy in USA. Also, is the dichotomy that, "did I come to be equal in USA, if so, I'd be like… wow, I got in! Het that's not right to take from someone else here; not a social norm to want for me but not same to others.")
    No room for that altruism discussion when on fast track to take what can (and not think of those in your new country that voted for you, but shun them. Probably something used to with a cast culture. All from Patel area, mentality is take what can.
    Speaking of getting what national tax payers aren't allowed in their own country…. no mention on loans. Does "Silicon Valley Bank collapse" ring a bell? They were giving "Spec loans" only to "people of color" to a collapsing level.(and why should the rich be alarmed? You want WOKE, so don't complain. Nice. Your welcome

  24. One thing not mentioned here, but since I have been in the lodging industry since 1980, I have seen how our government does for one and not the other. In the 80s, the US government offered people from India low-interest loans to get into the hospitality industry, and US citizens did not qualify for this type of lending. The rate at that time was 1% for loans up to 1mm dollars, whereas they told me I did not qualify for that rate through the SBA because I was a white American male, so my interest rate was 10%. I could have grown my business exponentially if I could have gotten that rate. Still, now I am not interested in increasing my lodging business. I have one property now, and at that time, I had 3 all with interest rates over 10%. Don't get me wrong, though; I have many friends in the lodging industry who are Indian, and they have done exceptionally well because they work as a family unit.

  25. Our clan was just people who were farmers and landowners since a very long time in India. Around 18th century people started entering trades other than agriculture. A good work ethic, pragmatic nature and good planning helped my clan get where they are. Most of us are simple people who value our families and the time we spend with them more than all the material gain one can acquire on this planet. The simple life truly is the best ☮.

  30. They all full of cockroches or bedbugs. When I see an Indian owned hotel I want to run away but sometimes it's inevitable. If a hotel put a sign like not indian owned then I will choose that hotel.

  31. It's easy for Indians because when they come over here they can get grants from the government that they don't have to pay back or if they get a loan from the government they can get it with nothing down and then keep the property in their name for several years and then after 5 or 10 years turn it over to another family member and they'll never have to pay tax on it there's all kind of loopholes for Indians that us Americans don't get. It's really a crock of shit

  33. MashAllah ما شاء الله
    Alhamdulila الحمد لله
    Sister Sana and all the other members of Aj+, May Allah Subhanahu Wa Taa'la bless you And give you the best return in here after🇧🇩💕

  35. We need to have mind set that you need to own something to start building your wealth, not simply be an employee. For Indian Americans may be easier for them to be self employed business owner.

  37. I used to conduct Safety Inspections for Workers Comp Insurance Companies and inspected a lot of hotels with owners that had the last name Patel. I always wondered what the story was behind that. Thanks to this YouTube Video I finally know!

  39. I can say that I have never once thought about who owned a hotel I have stayed in and I don't think many people do. I have lived in an area with a large Indian-American population my whole life and love the food/culture. Their work ethic and talent is very apparent and they seem to be the perfect immigrants. The Indian-Americans I know of are very entrepreneurial and/or well-educated and valued in the workplace. I hope the hotelier's experience at 3:22 has changed since he made those comments because I would certainly hope that doesn't happen.

  40. my uncle used to live in his hotel. The hotel was pretty big so they renovated the upstairs to make a decent penthouse with full amenities with rooms for their kids. They had a bigger bedroom than me and I grew up in a normal-sized home

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