Why Do Indian-Americans Own So Many Hotels? 

I owe a great thanks to a Indian motel owner who allowed my mum and dad to stay over a month at their motel and didn't charge a penny because mum was going thru a cancer treatment. Very generous owner. He didn't even charge for the food. My mum and dad told this to us once they were back in India. Thank you very much.

Most patels are huge business families even in India. I am from an Indian state called Assam, natives being the Assamese, here too people from Gujarat own big businesses. Gujaratis and Marwaris are business oriented communities. They know the art of making money.

My next door neighbor had a hotel 2 miles away and a dry cleaners 3 miles away from where we live. And yes, his their last name is Patel.

I cringe every time she says my last name.

Not just hotels, a hell lot of companies in Silicon Valley when compared to 2% population

In the UK - Patels owned all the corner stores. They replaced the Smiths. Now Patels lost interest in corner stores in U.K. Kids grown up & became doctors, business etc. It's simply hard work - no substitute. Most Patels in US now own hotel franchises not motels.

In order to run a cheap motel, you have to be able to be there 24 hours a day. It's a job that a lot of Americans don't want.

Indian doctors, professors, IT workers, motel owners, gas station owners, 7-Eleven workers, cab drivers in USA. Indian corner store owners in UK. Indian dairy shop owners, property owners, real estate agents, travel agents in New Zealand.

I stayed in a "Potel" this weekend because I saw the last Patel as an owner on the elevator inspection. The service and stay was great.

They don't smoke pot all day, simple.

I'm literally friends with a woman since we were in elementary school who is a Patel and her family owned a Ramada hotel in my city in Canada (they've since moved to the US).

*Indian Hotels and Chinese restaurants :-)* Let's add Korean spa and Native American Casinos to that, and we got a good mix of biases :-)

Patel are very hard working people I am proud to be a part of Patel community

I actually went to school with Indians named Patel. We were all in like a multicultural UN group. Their fathers or uncles owned the hotels they lived in. We would often joke about it. I didn't know there was a historical point to this.

A couple of years ago, a buddy of mine and I took cross country trip from California to New York and back. Over the 4 week trip, I'd say a clear 80% of the motels we stayed in were owned by Indians. They slept in their motels and were very kind to wake up so late and give us a room on the evenings that we decided to grab a room at a late hour. Great segment!

This is bizarre. Some years ago I was in Minnesota and I struck a small conversation with an Indian who later told me he ran a hotel on the state border somewhere and I thought it was really random an Indian owned a hotel in a rural area. I guess this video explains it.

Patel in the UK is normally associated with dentists/doctors

I'm a Patel. My parents own a hotel.

I'm watching this video from an Indian-owned motel...in rural California.

Well gujarati people are really good buisnessman

Walk into a potel and shout out loud "BANIYE"

I've stayed in many motels owned/run by Indians (yes, often named Patel), and I have found most of them to be fine with the hotel sincerely concerned with providing excellent service. One thing I have noticed (which doesn't bother me) is that many of them are not landscaped--that is, the parking lot meets the sidewalk that meets the building. I suspect landscaping is simply a low priority and provides minimal economic returns for the owners. I love Indian food, so I'm disappointed that very few have an Indian restaurant!

Here in Australia too, Indians own many servos (service stations/gas stations)

Patel s a truly Gujarati business man they covered all over u.k and United States of America

Great video. I always wondered why there were so many Patel hotels.

i dont care whether its marwadis or gujratis killing it in business as long as they maintain the level of hospitality to remind us that “atithi devo bhava”.

Very informative video and well presented. TY

In Trinidad _Chaguanas businessmen are Patel's they own 75 percent of stores outlets at one time KIRPLANIS had most of the outlets here in T&T

I have wondered why my parents never aspire to own a hotel. I can now attribute that to the wrong last name.

I recently went on a cross country road trip from PA to CA and back to SC and apart from the hotel in Texas all of the lower and middle level motels were Potels.

1/3 hotels in US are owned by Indians????? I am coming...... .. ..😂😎😘

I had to stay a year in a Patel owned hotel at 1st they was quiet to their self at the end we was like family if u ever had a India pizza man that thing is good

Because mostly all Patel's having good understanding and knowledge about how to run business in any part of the world. Not only in United States.

Thank you for doing this video. Only in America is this possible! You nailed it on the head - the story of the Patels is the story of immigrants in America. Every ethnic group from the Jews, Irish, Italians, to the more recent ones from Mexico all just want a fair shot at the Dream.

Are most Gujuratis named Patel? I get that Indian immigrants get in the business because of ease of entry, but you haven't explained why the Patel name dominate the industry.

I have found that Indo-Pak owned hotels tend to smell of body odor, curry and sandalwood (used in an attempt to mask the first two smells). How can I avoid hotels that are owned by Indo-Paks?

Proud to be patel...proud to be indian love from india...(parag patel)

Great video. Thanks!

Proud of Indian Hindu culture and upbringing

I am Singh, and I have hotels. No truck driver here :)

I stayed at a very good Holiday Inn Express in Weatherford, Texas that was operated by Indians. Nice room with fridge (first encounter with in room fridge), and great breakfast bar (first experience with breakfast bar as opposed to "continental" pastry). This was in 1996. 18 months ago, I got banned from the Benbrook, Texas Comfort Suites for calling Choice Corporate. The young female Indian-American manager was pissed at me for doing that and let me know it. She doesn't belong in hospitality. The GM was listed as a Patel. The owner, probably also Indian, sided with the manager. Choice confirmed I'm banned. Other people have complained about Patel properties on social media.

Great video, we travel extensively throughout the US and stay in all manner of hotels always was curious about this. Thank you so much for this video and I will be checking out the book.

Thaaaank you for the back story on Patels! Always wondered the 411 on the "why."

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

this is so interesting, it all makes sense now

Very nice! Best channel in RU-vid 😍

...i never evwn noticed this! This was actually really interesting!

Just like Chinese or Jews Patel helps each other.

I wanna see about how Sikhs moved to the United States

Thank you so much for this video. I have wondered about this since the '70's when I began to notice that a lot of Mom & Pop markets where owned by Arabs and then I noticed a lot of small motels were being bought by Indians. I have wondered why all these years. I wondered is there a broker in India pitching motel opportunities? My grandfather sold a small motel beside his house years ago before he built another 25 room motel and then two more when I75 was built. His original motel which still used his name beside his home was bought by an Indian fellow. They formed a friendship w my grandfather mentoring the Indian fellow. I didn't want to offend the motel owner by asking why so many Indians picked small motels to buy. So now thanks to this video, I know the answer at last. Thank you?

Columbus would have been glad to hear America being given back to Indians.

make a video about the jews that own all the banks and tv stations

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 RU-vid Video I finally know!

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 ☮.

as a non gujrati indian ,I remember the word of my parents to me before purchasing a car or house (Without debt) , that these material things dont give success or satisfaction in life , only hard work gives satisfaction and success .

I'm a truck driver and most of the hotels I stay at are indian owned and most of them are not bad at all, most of them run from 50$ to 60$ and you get much more than what you pay for

Where I live in Alabama I went to school with multiple “Patels” they lived in a local hotel. I’m in a very small town and all hotels and almost all except 3-4 hotels and gas stations are owned by patels. I’m in business and I’ve worked for a few since then and a guy named Mike Patel I worked for I became friends with and he explained to me the last name Patel is basically a gang but in a good way, they adopt the name and all look after each other and either hire each other or get them started and share their wealth. That’s why so many “Patels” own gas and hotel stops.

Patels also means cheap in North America 😆

You are really something in utilising gestures of your hand...🙏🙏🙏

And GAZ Stations!!

I remember years ago, when I was lost about the Greater San Francisco area in 2000... Just about every hotel we went to to freshen up was owned or at least run by an Indian. Think about what it means when you, born in your own land, is homeless, and someone who is probably first-generation foreigner, owns the place you take refuge in! THAT was karma, apparently. I don't know what I did wrong in a previous life, but I hope to run out of bad karma soon, as I just had surgery to repair a detached retina, which has wiped out my cash savings. This was an unsettling feeling I had when we walked into hotel after hotel in the area, and I didn't see a SINGLE white person behind the counter like I used to in Texas in the 70s growing up. I just don't understand how to get from the white American mentality that arises from the 1950s-1960s-born generation, where everything was made easy for them by their parents (post-war period) to that of the enterprising Hindu Indians who are apparently able to make money from nothing (I realize that this statement is a contradiction to Brahman transforming energy from an unmanifest, potential form into a manifest, material form like the universe - you don't make something from nothing, but that is how it appears to us, like magic). They are amazing, because they somehow make it happen. It's not so much the "method" of how they did it, but the mental set up in their minds, given that a lot of them are Hindu and have the image of America as the country to be in. That has me trying to understand to help me shift into an enterprising or bold mindset to take a risk in something. For some reason, I have the feeling that it is near time for me to immigrate to India to get something going, as it seems to be in a position to become a superpower in its own right, and a lot of interesting things will happen there in the coming years, and I would like to be a part of that.

Saana, good job. One thing that is missing which is very key to immigrants by business growth is employability and scalability. As you said Patel's lived in their hotels but they also kept the economic benefit by working it themselves and having family members do it because many were not employable anyways (older parents, lack of English, undocumented migrants). The second key aspect is scalability. Hotels and motels have a huge real estate component which allows an owner to mortgage the property and replicate the model quickly. This lead to proliferation. Koreans took on cash businesses for different economic benefits. Punjabis took in trucking and gas stations. The economic aspect is a key part above and beyond the cultural. It all ties into together. Keep up the great work and I love your channel.

Dan Bell’s channel has a series called Another Dirty Room. Watch the Royal Inn Motel in Michigan. Also many other similar motels are portrayed. They were not purposefully chosen as Indian owned motels. I’ve stayed in my share. I’ve not seen a decent one yet but I’ll let you know if I do.

Iron man of India is also PATEL

Don’t forget the liquor stores

patels = hotels singhs = truck the rest = gas stations

Awesome 👏

A similar phenomenon occurs in Australian truck stops and gas stations. Some of the best roadhouse food

It’s curious that you don’t mention how the US SBA opened up a flood gate of government loans in the 70s 80s hotel buying Immigrants.

I live in a Potel as I type this. it's an older motel that I know the original owners whom have sadly passed away. This couple run a good shop. If any riff raff shows up, they run them off quick. Great people. You pay your rent and mind your own business, they leave you alone. If you have any needs, just ask.

Great story ty

In fiji, new zealand and aus Patels are huge aswell right up there with The Punjas family

A lot of the Indian motel owners actually came from Africa. During British rule, lots of Indians were taken to Africa to work in indentured servitude. Many of the future generations of these Indians became successful business owners and landlords. When these African nations became independent from the British, they no longer wanted the Indians there and Indians were often convenient scapegoats for the countries' ills. So, many Indians sold their businesses and land and moved to the UK and US. Restaurants and motels were good businesses into which they could put the money they brought with them from Africa.

Thank you for excellent reporting. I guess the same case with Agha Khanis owning Dry cleaners and Punjabis growing rice and almond in Cal.

Would like you to do a segment on Hmong and/or Khmer immigrant communities. Thank you.

Having stayed in many of these hotels for years the biggest turnoff "for me" is walking in and smelling curry etc., they should take note.

Whoa smart investors

Few things she didn't cover. I remember from my early 80's in Oklahoma typical sign "White American owned and operated". Dark side: Insurance claim on burn down motels. US immigration via motel business ownership loopholes.

very nice!

SUPERB RESEARCH MAM..................

I don't care who owns the place as long as it's clean, affordable and well maintained. If a place fails to do that, it doesn't matter who owns it, nobody will want to stay there except the dregs of society.

Guajarati mind and their business attitude even in INDIA they are good at this believe me..

Why are the people at Al Jazeera so negatively obsessed with Indians?

Real question is why are so many them shit. Half the crap in the room never works, mildew, bad smells and so on…

We have given a lot of business to grocery stores like the famous _Patel Brothers_ . I’m just glad they are vegetarian-friendly.

potels, a hotel where you can get a room for one hour for 20 dollars.

Gets a F for ignoring a major part of the history - the sudden influx of Gujarati Indians from Uganda when Idi Amin threw them out of his country literally overnight in 1971. Many of them were wealthy business people in Uganda but were forced to leave. They managed to smuggle out significant amounts of personal money when they came to America and invested them in the low to mid-end motel business. That is the real genesis of so many Indians owning Patel-Motels.

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.

They are con artists. I have a vast array of experience with this type of family. The main reason that try to shuffle so many hotels, is interest and depreciation. Hotels increase their revenue, skip on all maintenance supplies. Plus skip out on the taxes once the hotel is depreciated. HORRIBLE PEOPLE!

This is the power of Hardwork and dedication Rock Patel🇮🇳🚩💯

Lol! That is so true my Indian friends family owns two Hotels and their last name is Patel.

Proude to be patel

Please talk about the academic and economic success of African and Caribbean immigrants in America while many Black communities remain in poverty for many generations.

I work in a Fairfield Marriott owned by Indians. Interesting and inspiring.

Why do Chinese-Americans own so many chinese restaurants?

Funny, my professor's last name for Hotel Management class is Patel.

Gujjus and marwardis together own almost 40% of big firms in India. There is always a business environment in there community . Growing up ,I was never been said to become doctor , engineer or lawyer . For them , it's just tactic study commerce , do a job for 3-4 yrs and then indulge somewhere in business .

My India friends unkle has many hotel in America

I worked in Motel Alfron in Houston Texas back in 1995, owned by a Gujarati couple from England. I wonder if they still own that Motel

Yes my relatives owned so many hotels in USA 🇺🇸