Preserving the legacy of Asian American hotel owners
By AAHOA Staff
Independent hoteliers are the backbone of our industry, and their story is inseparable from the legacy of the early Asian American Indian pioneers who first carved a path into hospitality. These families arrived in the United States with few resources but an extraordinary work ethic. They purchased and operated properties – often extended-stay hotels for veterans and low-income housing – and, through sheer determination, transformed them into sustainable businesses.
“These were neglected hotels, or extended-stay type hotels for a lot of veterans and low-income housing, but it planted a seed for the generations in San Francisco and California and the rest of the country, that hospitality was the direction of a good investment where people could migrate and establish a foothold in America and house their families and eventually grow their assets and wealth accordingly,” recalled Past AAHOA Chairman Mike Amin (2002-03). “It was the foundational piece. Basically, the city of San Francisco was the pioneer.”
That seed grew into a movement. What began with single-room occupancy (SRO) buildings in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district evolved into a nationwide footprint of family-owned hotels. These pioneers became the model for independent hoteliers everywhere: Working every role, reinvesting earnings, and encouraging others to enter the business.
“The history of the struggles of the earlier pioneers is something that I don’t think is well known,” said Ramesh Gokal, Charter AAHOA Member. “It is now reasonably well documented, and we should honor that because we look at where we are. They had some challenges and failures, but stuck with it, believed in it, and encouraged others to enter the industry. So without all that, I don’t think we would be where we are today.”
Preserving this story is the mission of the Indo-American Hotelier Exhibition Funds Development Committee. The group includes Gokal as committee chair; Amin; AAHOA Chairman Kamalesh (KP) Patel; past AAHOA Chairman Hitesh Bhakta (2003-04); former AAHOA President Fred Schwartz; honorary member Mike Leven, a founding member of AAHOA; past AAHOA Director at Large and North Pacific Regional Director Sam Devdhara; AAHOA Member Jaya Patel; Faheem Khan, executive director and senior vice president at JPMorgan Chase; entrepreneur Sumati Patel-Pareek; and AHLA representative Robert Stuckey. The exhibition will feature artifacts, first-person narratives, and key research from Surat to San Francisco: How the Patels from Gujarat Established the Hotel Business in California 1942–1960, a foundational text by Mahendra K. Doshi.
Gokal emphasized that AAHOA itself would not exist without this legacy.
“We didn’t focus on our roots or how we started in the industry. We essentially built AAHOA because of our need to be organized and be able to react and protect our future, which is all good. Were it not for the persistence and sacrifices of our pioneers, who knows what the American hotel industry landscape would look like today, and would even AAHOA exist?”
For Amin, the story is personal. His grandfather immigrated to San Francisco in 1952 under the quota system, with little English and only a fifth-grade education. Like many others, he and his family became independent hoteliers.
“They were all independent hoteliers who basically worked every aspect of that particular property, from the front desk to housekeeping to repair maintenance, capital expense, whatever it is,” Amin said. “They were basically the fuel to the fire and made that hotel profitable as best as they could.”
While the museum exhibit in San Francisco is one way this history will be honored, the larger mission is clear: To ensure that the sacrifices, achievements, and enduring spirit of the first Indo-American hoteliers are never forgotten. Their story is the story of independent hoteliers — one of resilience, entrepreneurship, and family. It is also the story of AAHOA, built on the foundation they created.
“It’s like Mike Leven said to me many years ago, ‘it’s about preservation of your identity and history,’” Amin added. “This is a vital piece to understand, from the Indo-American perspective, how the hotel industry started in the seed of prosperity through hard work, investing in a hotel that nobody wanted, and becoming a part of the American Dream. If you don’t have this foundational piece somewhere in the country, the message and the history are lost.”
Help Preserve This Legacy
Your support is essential to bringing this important story to life. AAHOA Founding Member Mike Leven said it best: “There has to be a monument to the success of the individuals who started their business 40-50 years ago here.” Hear more from Leven here.
Every contribution helps ensure that the sacrifices, achievements, and enduring workforce legacy of Indo-American hoteliers are honored and shared with future generations. Make a donation today.
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