Cover Story
Imesh Vaidya’s American Dream
A life built one hotel at a time By Nicole Needles From a modest 26-room motel in southeastern New Mexico to leading a growing hospitality company and serving as one of AAHOA’s most respected leaders, Imesh Vaidya understands the American Dream not as a destination, but as a responsibility. For Vaidya, success was built long before he ever entered the hotel business full-time. It began with his parents’ sacrifices after immigrating from India, years of hard physical labor, and a determination to create opportunities for…
Featured
From Humble Beginnings
How Indian Americans built the American hospitality industry By Cathleen Draper When Kanji Manchhu Desai of Digas, D. Lal of Orna, and Nanalal Patel of Butwada left their villages in Surat, they didn’t dream of America. Instead, Patel ventured to Panama in 1922, while D. Lal and Desai made the journey to Trinidad in 1930, all in…
Spreading the Risk
The future of ownership goes beyond hospitality By Cathleen Draper For decades, the playbook for hotel ownership was simple: Buy the box, flag it with a strong brand, run it well, and let the returns roll in. But for a growing number of owners, that strategy no longer plays out the way it used to. Margins have…
The Responsibility of Representation
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam seeks to restore access to the American Dream By AAHOA Staff As the son of immigrants and one of six Indian American members of Congress, Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) acutely understands the importance of representation. He also understands the daily challenges that small business owners face – before his time in Congress, Rep. Subramanyam…
Columns
The Brands Went Asset Light. Your Costs Didn’t.
An asset-light pivot is compressing your margins – here’s what the new wave of conversion brands means for what’s left By Sumit Dalwadi, DBA There is a version of hotel franchising that most of us bought into. The brand brings the flag, the loyalty program, the reservation system, and the marketing muscle. You bring the…
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The American Dream We Already Built
To get the next generation in the door, hoteliers must first open it By Aaryan Patel & Jin Laxmidas For generations, hotel ownership has represented one of the purest examples of the American Dream. Many AAHOA Members arrived in this country with little more than determination, worked tirelessly, made sacrifices, and built businesses that now…
The Generation That Follows
Today’s most motivated business owners build for what comes next By Kristie Kalinowski Ask most people to describe the American Dream and they will reach for the language of independence and financial security. These are real motivations, and they have driven business ownership for generations. But spend time with the people entering service-based business ownership…
Built in Hospitality, Competing on the Fairway
Manav Shah’s journey to the U.S. Golf Open By Jodi Scott For Manav Shah, the road to professional golf began long before his first tournament tee time. It started inside his family’s Bakersfield, CA, hospitality business – an entrepreneurial upbringing that instilled the discipline, drive, and attention to detail that now define his game. “My…
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Planting the Seeds for Growth
Opportunity is the center of the modern American Dream By Robert Krzak For generations, the American Dream in hospitality followed a familiar blueprint: Work harder, grow the business, acquire the next property, and keep moving forward. Across the hotel industry, countless owners built successful businesses through persistence, long hours, and personal sacrifice. Many families lived…