I must provide one correction, however. "Patels" are NOT Middle Eastern. They are Indian; It is true that "Patel" is as common among Indians as "Smith" is among English ancestry folks.
It is also a fact that Indians have taken over the motel trade in this country.
The person I knew in Houston who referred us to his in-laws' various motels had a different last name and he was Indian (from India), but I got the impression from him and from his wife that these Patels were Pakistani.
It was a long time ago, so I could be mistaken--it was just something that stuck in my brain, so I was being intentioanlly vague about their nationality.