Washington, Apr 6 (PTI) Patels, who over the past three decades have become synonymous with the hotel and motel industry in the US are the powers to be reckoned with, according to an Indian American author who has documented in a book the phenomenal struggle and rise of this small but highly influential community, whose origins can be traced back to Gujarat.
“Patels are power to be reckoned with. They are not only influential, (but) they (also) dominate the American hospitality landscape. They have a big say in these matters (of the American travel and tourism industry). Of course there are regulations by the federal government, they are trying to overcome, but they have done reasonably well. I would say they have enriched themselves,” Indian American Mahendra K Doshi, author of the book “Surat to San Francisco” told PTI in an interview.
Released a few months ago, the book “Surat to San Francisco” is the first-ever documentation of the story of Patels in America’s motel industry and is based on interviews with scores of Patel and those involved in this industry.
Born in Vadia, Saurashtra and raised in Kolkata, Doshi is a former journalist with India Abroad, an ethnic Indian American publication. A movie is now being made on his book.
“They (the current generation) have not witnessed their ancestors suffer. So my job was to bring this part of the American immigrant success story. It is really an American immigrant success story. If they were in Trinidad or London, they wouldn’t be able to do what they did. They built an industry with massive employment, massive wealth, thousands of dollars in their hands. They have enriched themselves,” Doshi told PTI in Orlando, Florida this week on the sidelines of the annual convention of Asian American Hotel Owners Association or AAHOA.
Founded in 1989, AAHOA represents more than 36,000 properties, employs over 1.1 million workers, contributes over 1.5 per cent to the US GDP and their collective annual spending is over USD 50 billion. They own properties worth USD 1 trillion. For the book, Doshi, who now lives in San Jose, California, interviewed 165 Patels.
“They are very wealthy, they are rich, and they are influential. Some of the Patels’ families own a multitude of hotels, not only one or two. Some of them own boutique hotels. Some of them own…Hyatt Regency, one of the finest hotels. So, they have done really well. And money-wise, they have millions of dollars in their assets. And even a small-time hotelier is very well off compared to, say, an engineer or a doctor,” he said.
It all started, Doshi said, when Patels started coming in the 1920s. Since America at that time did not allow Asians, the first phase of Patels came to the country illegally through Trinidad, Panama, Honduras.
“Three Patels who came (first): Nanalal Patel, Kanji Manchhu Desai, and D Lal. They came via Panama and Trinidad. And all three are original founders. They all came illegally to America,” he said.
“They came with no visas and somehow, they started working in Punjabi farms in California in San Joaquin Valley near Fresno. In 1942, during the Second World War, when Japanese were being interned, one of the lady in Sacramento asked Kanji Manchhu Desai who was a kind of habitual resident over there during his off hours. He offered her some money like USD350 down and USD75 a month and he got first Patel hotels called Hotel Ford in Sacramento on Key Street and 6th Street,” Doshi said.
“It was a single room occupancy hotel. It was an 8 feet by 10 feet room. The bathroom was down the alley, and there wasn’t much service they provided. The rent was 50 cents a day. Kanji Manchhu thought this was a better job than working in Punjabi farms, because in farms you work day and night for 10 cents an hour. So he made $100 for month and he was so elated he said this is a better job,” he said.
“So, every Patel who came to visit his hotel said if you are a Patel, lease a hotel. So, from one hotel it became three hotels and then he moved to San Francisco where he got his first hotel called Goldfield and he became a host of all the illegal Patels who were nearby. He helped them get the hotels. Like in those days, if you have USD1,000 to USD1,500 down, you can rent 150-room hotels, and you can make between USD100 to USD125. In those days, USD100 is like USD5,000 now because you have such a huge buying power in those days,” he said.
The hotel, Doshi noted, was demolished and in its place, there is a convention centre in San Francisco.
“But quite a few hotels that Patel owns are still in existence between 6th and 6th street between Mission Street, there are hotels still there. I personally visited quite a few of them,” he said. Some of those hotels, he said, are still being owned by their descendants.
Doshi, now in 80s, came to the US as a student. “I came here to study with basically nothing in my pocket. I got my master’s degree working various odd jobs. Then I worked for India abroad and Trans-India. That’s how I became a journalist. Then journalism in those days didn’t pay well, so I had to work with General Motors in the marketing department. And after I retired from there, I thought I’ll use my education to contribute something to the knowledge. That’s how I did,” he said. PTI LKJ SCY SCY
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