In Family Businesses, the Next Generation of Women Hoteliers Is Ready to Lead
By Cathleen Draper
Dhruti Patel was born into the world of hospitality. She grew up in an independent property, one of several hotels her parents owned. Her family lived behind the hotel, and Dhruti and her brother frequently helped their mother, Tina Patel, turn over rooms, make beds, and clean. When Dhruti was in middle school, her parents built a Comfort Suites. Then, the recession hit.
“There was no occupancy,” Tina said. “So guess what? We were doing the desk, because nobody was there.”
After school, Dhruti covered shifts. Her parents’ businesses survived the economic downturn, and they continued to take on new builds. Eventually, Dhruti left home to study public health with a concentration in management and policy at Oregon State University. In the meantime, her parents formed ALKO Hotels in 2017 to manage their portfolio.
Upon graduating, Dhruti worked in public health for more than a year before she realized her heart belonged to hospitality.
“I would leave my house before the sun was even up, and I would come back when the sun was already down, and I didn’t even work by a window,” Dhruti recalled about her cubicle-bound role. “I was like, ‘wow, this is not the life I want to live.’ And I just ultimately realized I’d have a lot more flexibility and freedom working in hospitality.”
Dhruti returned home, where Tina, managing director of ALKO, was waiting with open arms. Dhruti took a general manager position at one of her parents’ independent properties. Tina pushed her daughter to learn more about the business, enrolling her in courses through AAHOA and other industry programs. Dhruti discovered her passion for revenue management, and as both a mother and professional mentor, Tina encouraged her to apply to Cornell University’s hospitality management certificate program.
“I ended up getting that master’s certificate while doing revenue management at our hotels,” Dhruti said. “I was able to apply it to real life, and that’s how I ended up morphing into my role now, through that and really, through my mom.”
Today, Dhruti is the vice president of revenue and sales at ALKO. The team is small – Dhruti’s father and brother oversee building, development, and renovations, while she and Tina run the operations. She is one of an increasing number of daughters who step up to lead in their family business, and she’s poised to take the reins one day.
Family Dynamics
Like Dhruti, Priya Patel grew up in a motel owned by her father, Mahendra (MZ) Patel, AAHOA Mid Atlantic Regional Director. She pursued a career outside of hospitality as a certified accountant, and after working at a big four accounting firm, Priya decided to make the switch to a private company. But first, she returned to the family business, hoping to help her parents retire early.
“But that didn’t really happen,” Priya said. “Eight years later, I’m still here.”
In 2019, MZ and his brother launched MHO Hotels, a membership hospitality management organization and franchise brand. Priya is now the president and CEO, and she’s prepared to run the family business one day. In addition to the MHO brand, Priya and MZ own multiple motels, and they’re expanding into new ventures, such as self-storage.
“We work together every single day, so it’s definitely fun,” Priya said.
It took time for Priya and MZ to figure out how to work in harmony. When Priya joined the team, she was accustomed to a corporate structure with defined roles. In a smaller family business, responsibilities are more fluid. Her father and her have different working styles, and growing up in the motel, Priya discovered, is much different from managing one.
“I gained that appreciation – this isn’t easy. This is not just fun all the time,” Priya said. “The way we work together is really just pushing each other to do the things that we’re good at, and then not pushing each other in anything that we don’t want to do and being on that same page.”
Like Priya and MZ, effective communication is key for Dhruti and Tina. They operate in two modes: “This is your boss talking,” and “this is your mom talking.” There are times, Dhruti said, when she must sit down and understand that in that moment, Tina is her boss, not her mom.
“You can’t think of it as, ‘this is your mom, and she’s going to mother you,’” Dhruti continued. “You have to realize this is a business, and at the end of the day, we have to think about what’s best for the business. And if you don’t like that, 10 minutes later, [she’ll] be your mom again, hug it out.”
Occasionally, she and her daughter argue, but Tina tries to remember that as the first and second generation, she and Dhruti approach the business from different points of view. Like her, MZ also maintains an open mind and listens to his daughter’s new ideas.
“[With] two different generations, the thinking is different,” MZ said. “But the bottom line is, both have to come together at the end of the day. That’s the best thing we can achieve.”
Lessons Learned
As Dhruti and Priya stepped back into the world of hospitality – and into leadership roles within their family businesses – they learned from their parents’ experiences and expertise.
“The most important thing I learned from [my mom] is you have to do everything yourself,” Dhruti said. “And that includes scrubbing the toilet and how to do everything on the back end of the computer. That is how you gain the respect of your employees. You have to do the work, and at the end of the day, that’s what’s going to set you apart from others.”
MZ, meanwhile, taught Priya how to prioritize employees and the importance of doing so. She now sees the difference between her dad’s properties and those of other hoteliers because of how steadfastly he cares for those who work there.
“We’ve had the same housekeepers for 20 years, and that’s telling,” Priya said. “But I never knew how to do that in the corporate world – manage so many people and different types of people from different cultures. And that makes a difference for us because we are able to do better when we have happier employees.”
And as Tina and MZ prepare to one day step back and let their daughters lead, they have wisdom to bestow.
“I always tell my daughter, sit at the table. Let your voice be heard,” Tina said. “Sometimes it’s hard to do that, but you need to make sure you are sitting at the table and empower other women.”
Tina pushes Dhruti to advocate. She and her daughter travel often to Washington, D.C. and attend AAHOA’s Spring and Fall National Advocacy Conferences. She was one of the first women to attend the conference, and today, she sees more and more women hoteliers making their voices heard. Together, she and Dhruti push for change on the state level and encourage other women to engage through a women’s advocacy group they lead.
MZ, who founded MHO Hotels to help other hoteliers navigate the business, wants Priya to remember that their business’ financial success is the second priority. The first is serving others.
“A lot of our brothers and sisters, they’re beginners,” he said. “If they don’t understand [how to do something], and if we have [the] knowledge, why wouldn’t we share with our brothers and sisters and help them to learn? That’s what I always tell her. That’s our main priority.”
MZ has watched the industry take a positive turn, one where women have a more equal footing. “This was a man-driven business for a long time,” he said. “A lot of women nowadays take over the hotel – not only the hotel, [but the whole] business.”
He remembers when AAHOA first launched the HerOwnership platform in 2022, and he’s witnessed how it’s grown over the years to hundreds of women hoteliers. He credits the platform as part of the reason more first-generation hoteliers are passing the baton to their daughters. He also recalled when he and Priya sat on a panel at AAHOACON, which delved into effective communication in family-run businesses. An audience member asked him why he didn’t consider Priya’s brother as CEO.
“I said, ‘as a father, I want to teach my daughter and son equally. They both have a right to learn from me.’”
That’s what Tina would tell other parents, too.
“Treat your daughter equally as your son. Daughters are not there to just have them get married and go to a different family. They can bring a lot to the table if you let them in your business and let their opinion count as much as your son’s.”
Who Is Your Biggest Inspiration?
“I owe everything to my parents. They are immigrants who hustled throughout my childhood to give me the best life possible. They inspire me to take everything and grow it while staying humble and empathetic. Given their struggles growing up, they never complained and provided for me with a smile on their face. My mother was not able to obtain a master’s, so I am pursuing an MBA to accomplish her dreams.”
-Tulsi Thakor President, Tulsi Hotels Women Hoteliers Committee Member
“My mother, without a doubt. I’ve always been in awe of everything she’s accomplished. From journeying with my father across three continents to raising four daughters and managing both financial and emotional challenges – she’s seen it all. And through it all, she continues to smile and move forward with strength and grace. She’s the definition of resilience.”
-Kataki Patel Vice President of Operations and Owner, Exception Hospitality Women Hoteliers Committee Member
“My mom, Tara Joshi, and my mother-in-law, Nayana Patel, and all the women of their generation that left their homeland to establish a life for their families!”
-Nina Patel CEO, Steel Hospitality
“My mother and father have been my greatest inspiration, though I’ve never expressed this to them. Their work ethic, grace under pressure, and ability to nurture others while pursuing their own goals – primarily for the family – have profoundly shaped the way I lead and live.”
-Arti Patel COO, Pristine Hospitality Women Hoteliers Director, Western Division Co-Chair, Women Hoteliers Committee
Image: Vitalii Vodolazskyi/stock.adobe.com
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