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For multi-unit owners looking to sell their business: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/
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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:
- A parallel “handshake loan” financing system was created
• 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
- Why Gujarat produced so many hotel entrepreneurs
- How the “handshake loan” system actually worked
- Why Patels lived inside their motels
- How 60% margins were possible
- What discrimination they faced in the 1980s
- Why AAHOA was created
- How a Patel-founded bank now holds $3B in assets
Script - Why hotel franchising dominates today
- Why Marriott and Hilton keep inventing new sub-brands
- How professional management companies allow hotel portfolios to scale
