Posted on 03/03/2008 7:02:42 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
When Manoj Patel's family bought the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, Calif., four years ago, the iconic Route 66 property was rundown. Its stucco teepees, built in the 1930s by Kentucky motor-inn visionary Frank Redford, had been frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes because the Wigwam's previous owners tried to reel in customers with a cheesy sign urging them to DO IT IN A TEE PEE. The Patels, who left India for the U.S. in 1980, worked hard to restore the motel to its former glory and added some modern amenities, including free wi-fi access. Says the owners' son Manoj, 27: "It feels good to know that the motel has a place in history and that we are able to keep it alive." Which is why it's a shame that the Patels and other innkeepers of South Asian descent have prompted a xenophobic--some might say racist--response from competitors along the U.S.'s historic highways.
As the Indian share of the market has grown over the years--members of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) now own 37% of the U.S. hotel industry--AMERICAN OWNED signs keep popping up outside motels around the country. While this seemingly innocuous phrase may appeal to many customers, it can also be intended as code for "not owned by immigrants," an attempt to divert business from upstanding first- or second-generation citizens whose ethnicity distinguishes them from most of their small-town neighbors.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
What happens in Delhi, stays in Delhi.
They don’t need signs.
You can smell the curry when you walk in.
The Patels have been good for the motel/hotel industry here.
I have passed by there a few times. One of the better keep motels on route 66.
Those first- and second-generation Americans ought to put "American Owned" on their signs, as well.
Amen! When I smell the curry I walk out. I hate it when you get hit between the eyes by the smell of curry in the lobby.
Well, you're 2 for 5.
Like all privately owned & run motels, some are great and some are scummy, not sure the ethnicity of the ownership means much, often more a question of location.
I was traveling with an Indian friend of mine and we were looking for a motel.
We pulled into a place that on first glance looked decent, but when the proprietor stepped out my friend saw the dot on her forehead and told me to step on it and get out of there.
Even he refuses to stay at a place run by Indians that reeks of curry and is filled with all the little critters that like feeding off it.
I’ve got no problem with the Indian/Pakistani motel owners around here, either. Real go-getters for business, they run clean establishments and are very pleasant people. That’s the kind of immigrant who’s good for America.
/liberal rant
A family PATEL from India also has a hotel in Hutchinson, Kansas. I wondered if ICE and immigration ever checked their immigratory status, no one speaks ENGLISH.
If all an owner can think of to say on their sign is
“American Owned” then I would figure it must be a real
flea-bag.
Honestly, people are so incredibly touchy.
Run a good business, treat them nice, and people will come.
in the end what matters to me is
1) are the sheets clean
2) is the bed comfy
3) does the ac/heat work
4) are the bathrooms clean
5) do I have tv
6) are the rates reasonable.
That all I give a damn about if I’m staying in a Motel... I’m only there for 1 night tops and I plan on sleeping, showering and moving on. It doesn’t matter to me if the owner is black, white, yellow, brown, or purple with green freakin polka-dots.
I for one am glad many motel operators advertise “American Owned/operated” and do choose motels that way when traveling. The reason I do not want to stay in foreign-owned motels is because of the way I have been treated in the past by Indian owners. I had so many disputes with Indian owners that I decided it had to be a cultural difference, and I simply do not choose to stay where I do not feel welcome. I am not racist, though I felt most Indian owners did not like Americans- they would say things that denigrated Americans when I had issues with them. I am not alone, I know many people that had problems with Indian owners.
“Well, you’re 2 for 5.”
Huh?
The Indians are very smart. They hire white people for the front desk, live elsewhere and just focus on management and cash flow. I saw this multiple times traveling back from AZ to PA... all white people in the lobby, but the invoice would say “Patel Investments LLC” or whatnot.
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