THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 26, 1995 TAG: 9507260001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
The story is as old as this nation: Immigrants in the United States work long and hard to make something of themselves.
One of the latest immigrant success stories is in the motel and hotel business. As this paper reported Sunday, a wave of immigrants from the Indian western coastal state of Gujarat, most with the surname Patel, have come to control 12,500 American hotels and motels worth more than $26 billion, according to a trade association.
Indian immigrants represent less than a third of a percentage point of the U.S. population, yet they control a third of all hotel and motel assets, including some in Hampton Roads.
``In another five years, they will control about 50 percent of all hotel (and motel) assets in the U.S.,'' said Gregory C. Plank, executive vice president of Forte Hotels Inc., which operates the Travelodge chain. ``It is just incredible how hard they work.''
Ownership of a motel allows a large family to live together on the premises, and if the whole family works, labor costs may be reduced to nothing.
They've overcome such obstacles as limited command of English and a reluctance of some chains and real-estate people to deal with them. Often they have snatched up dying family-run motels and fixed them up.
``They helped legitimize the economy-lodging segment,'' said Michael Leven, president of Holiday Inn Worldwide in Atlanta. ``The Indian community bought a lot of motels that nobody wanted.''
Smarts, as well as long hours and sweat, have contributed to the immigrants' success. They have demonstrated the economic power of an extended family with a shared goal. Most of all, they have demonstrated the power of work. by CNB