Richardson, Texas – When Ron Patel talks to customers at the Super 8 Motel he owns, he usually does so in English. When he speaks to the housekeeping staff, it’s often in Spanish. When he talks to his wife, it’s in the Indian language Gujarati.
It’s a complicated but increasingly common scene in U.S. hotels and motels, about one-third of which are owned by Indians, according to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.
Stonebridge Cos., based in Englewood, is one local example of an Asian-American-owned hotel company. Stonebridge, which owns or manages more than 30 hotels nationwide, is led by Navin Dimond. It is building a 221-room Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Denver.
To help keep order in the multi-language environment, many hotel operators are turning to a Gujarati-Spanish phrase book developed for hotel owners and being expanded and more widely distributed by the end of 2006.
The many Gujarati-speaking hotel franchisees and Spanish-speaking employees in places like Texas and California inspired Nicole Johnson-Reece of Wyndham Worldwide Corp. to request a Gujarati-Spanish dictionary from the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance, an industry group that has made other language guides.
The result was the 80-page, pocket-sized book featuring phrases useful when running a hotel or motel, such as “please unclog the drain” and “inspect the room for all items left behind.” The books have been especially popular at smaller “limited” hotels, half of which are owned by Indians.
The guide sold about 10,000 copies in 2005. Most were bought by hotel owners, but some were bought by Indians who owned convenience stores or construction businesses, said alliance spokeswoman Michelle Miller.
“There are some in the family who perhaps are involved in the business who don’t have total command of English, so it’s much easier for them to see it in Gujarati,” said Gerry Fernandez, the alliance’s president.
The guide was first available only to Cendant Corp. franchisees – now Wyndham Worldwide – although members of the Asian hotel owners group received copies of it at a conference in 2005. The popularity has driven the association to create another guide with more customer-related phrases to be released by the end of the year.
The growing demand is a reflection of the Gujarati saturation of the lodging industry, which probably stems from the heritage of Gujaratis.
Many people in the Gujarat region of India have the last name “Patel,” which means landowner, farmer or merchant.
Many Gujaratis run their lodging businesses with the help of family members, who often live in the hotels themselves. It’s an efficient way for these Indian immigrants to get their lives started in the U.S., said Fred Schwartz, president of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.
Schwartz said the close networking of Gujaratis has helped pass along the motel business idea to many generations.
Staff writer Julie Dunn contributed to this report.
