DARE TO ASK: Why is Patel big name in motel biz?

By PHILLIP MILANO, The Times-Union

Question

Why are so many Indian people either owners or managers of independent motels, and why do a large percentage have the last name "Patel"?

Dick A., Santa Rosa, Calif.

Replies

One or two families get their foot in the door, then through hard work, networking, informal credit and pooling resources they get their brothers, sisters, cousins, friends and relatives involved. Before long, a certain ethnic group seems to "dominate" a certain type of business. There is no conspiracy or devious plan involved.

Mihir, 25, Indian-American male, Illinois

Patels are businesspeople, so wherever they go they continue to do what they know, and what they are taught is their place in society. But not all Indians own hotels and 7-Elevens.

Avanti, 18, Asian female, Mississippi

The typical immigrant family has one major asset: a willingness to put the whole family to work. You want people you can trust at the cash register. You make a go of it, and perhaps bring other relatives over and help them set up. In a similar way, my father became an accountant because he had relatives who were successful accountants at a time when jobs were scarce.

Jerry, 52, New Britain, Conn.

Expert says

A Patel play-by-play, translated from an abysmal phone conversation but highly successful e-mail exchange with researcher Govind Bhakta, author of Patels: A Gujarati Community History in the United States (UCLA Asian American Studies Press):

Family names aren't a huge deal for a lot of Indians.

For lack of a better surname, some choose the caste to which they belong.

People of the same caste often inter-marry.

Voila - in the heavily populated Gujarat State in India, where Patel is a big caste, there are about 40 million Patels.

Immigration reforms in the United States brought a lot of Patels here in the '60s (there are about 2 million today).

To adjust to a strange new land, they sought work where their families could stay together in one place.

Older Americans at the time who ran independent motels were looking to retire and get out of the business.

Many Patels were keen businesspeople.

Boom - they took over these operations and kept costs low by hiring other Patels, whom they then helped to open their own franchises, leading to many flourishing Patel-owned motels.

Bam - as recently at the 1980s, law enforcement officials embarked on a fruitless probe to find a "Patel crime family" modeled on the Italian mafia.

Over the years, second- and third-generation Patels have diversified into many other fields.

Many are now teachers, engineers, electronics workers or health care employees.

Bam again - the Patel-owned motel phenomenon has probably peaked.

Phillip Milano, author of I Can't Believe You Asked That! (Perigee), moderates cross-cultural dialogue at Y? The National Forum on People's Differences. Visit www.yforum.com to submit questions and answers, or mail to Phillip Milano, c/o The Florida Times-Union, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Include contact information.