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From One Motel to Billions: The Patel Hotel Empire
Get in Contact
For multi-unit owners looking to sell their business: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/
Interested in buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise
Description
Today, Indian Americans own over 60% of hotels and motels in the United States.
Most of them trace back to one region in India: Gujarat.
But this didn’t happen by accident.
It began in the 1930s with Kanji Desai — the “Godfather of Hospitality” - who saw that motels weren’t just a business…they were a bridge. A way for immigrants from Gujarat to arrive in America and immediately have a path to ownership.
From there:
• Families lived inside their motels to cut costs
• Children worked front desk and housekeeping
• 60%+ margins were possible through extreme efficiency
• Discrimination from banks and insurers forced collective action
• The AAHOA was formed to fight systemic prejudice
• A Patel-founded bank (The State Bank of Texas) was created to finance hotel owners
• And eventually, third-party management and franchising allowed scaling into multi-billion-dollar portfolios
This episode walks through the full evolution:
From one-off motels…
To multi-unit ownership…
To billion-dollar hotel platforms.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Script
View all episodes
By Patrick Buckley
5
1111 ratings
Get in Contact
For multi-unit owners looking to sell their business: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/
Interested in buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise
Description
Today, Indian Americans own over 60% of hotels and motels in the United States.
Most of them trace back to one region in India: Gujarat.
But this didn’t happen by accident.
It began in the 1930s with Kanji Desai — the “Godfather of Hospitality” - who saw that motels weren’t just a business…they were a bridge. A way for immigrants from Gujarat to arrive in America and immediately have a path to ownership.
From there:
• Families lived inside their motels to cut costs
• Children worked front desk and housekeeping
• 60%+ margins were possible through extreme efficiency
• Discrimination from banks and insurers forced collective action
• The AAHOA was formed to fight systemic prejudice
• A Patel-founded bank (The State Bank of Texas) was created to finance hotel owners
• And eventually, third-party management and franchising allowed scaling into multi-billion-dollar portfolios
This episode walks through the full evolution:
From one-off motels…
To multi-unit ownership…
To billion-dollar hotel platforms.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Script
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