Hotel..."American Owned and Operated"

[Steve Smith]

A surprisingly large number of small hotels/motels seem to be owned or run by Indians or Pakistanis, often with the last name of Patel. I think this "American owned" thing is a xenophobic reaction to that fact. Someone once told me that the name Patel means innkeeper. That may be an urban legend. The surname Patel is common in that field of work.

 

[globetrotter]

I think that it is mildy racist, but it is the reaction of a small business that is strugling to stay alive and probrably won't very long. there are chunks of the population that will give business to an amiercan owned motel because they see it as patriatic, and the owners are leveraging that.

 

[Silverback]

Originally Posted by robbie

maybe, it is quite possible I see racism in places it might not be.
That is because you do not know what racism is. "America" or "Americans" are not a race.

Originally Posted by robbie

I guess I just didn't get what would make want to stay there over somewhere else... why did they feel it was necessary to advertise 'American owned and Operated'... what was the point?
This goes back a long way and with the current economic situation has new urgency. It is their way of saying "Buy American". Keep your dollars in America.

 

[Silverback]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I think that it is mildy racist, but it is the reaction of a small business that is strugling to stay alive and probrably won't very long. there are chunks of the population that will give business to an amiercan owned motel because they see it as patriatic, and the owners are leveraging that.
I would be interested in why you think this is racist in the least?

 

[Steve Smith]

Originally Posted by Silverback

I would be interested in why you think this is racist in the least?


Read my post at the top of this page.

 

[feynmix]

Originally Posted by Steve Smith

A surprisingly large number of small hotels/motels seem to be owned or run by Indians or Pakistanis, often with the last name of Patel. I think this "American owned" thing is a xenophobic reaction to that fact. Someone once told me that the name Patel means innkeeper. That may be an urban legend. The surname Patel is common in that field of work.

This is the right answer to OPs question. Indians, mostly Patels, are/have taken over the motel owning business in the US. I have friends and relatives (Patels) that own motels in the smallest towns in the US. One of my good friends owns one in Red Lodge, MT. About 8 hrs away from any big city.

 

[hamish5178]

Originally Posted by feynmix

This is the right answer to OPs question. Indians, mostly Patels, are/have taken over the motel owning business in the US. I have friends and relatives (Patels) that own motels in the smallest towns in the US. One of my good friends owns one in Red Lodge, MT. About 8 hrs away from any big city.

What's with the name Patel? There are 5 or 6 indian people that I know with that last name, and none are related.

A sign like that would make me much less likely to stay there. I doubt it meant the hotel wasn't owned buy a large Chinese corporation, it meant there were white people behind the counter, like Baron said.

 

[Eason]

Originally Posted by Silverback

That is because you do not know what racism is. "America" or "Americans" are not a race.

This goes back a long way and with the current economic situation has new urgency. It is their way of saying "Buy American". Keep your dollars in America.

If you went to a restaurant that said "American owned and operated" and it was run by a ***********, you'd claim otherwise.

 

[Steve Smith]

Originally Posted by Eason

If you went to a restaurant that said "American owned and operated" and it was run by a ***********, you'd claim otherwise.



I wouldn't. Almost all of us are immigrants if you go a few generations back.

 

[feynmix]

Originally Posted by hamish5178

What's with the name Patel? There are 5 or 6 indian people that I know with that last name, and none are related.

A sign like that would make me much less likely to stay there. I doubt it meant the hotel wasn't owned buy a large Chinese corporation, it meant there were white people behind the counter, like Baron said.

I am not a Patel so I don't really know their whole background, except that the chances of them being related to each other is small. In the Gujarati culture, a few last names dominate, and they rarely dictate lineage (not true all the time, but in most cases). A majority of them are very entrepreneurial in nature, and hence own motels/gas stations/convenience stores all over the country.

 

[B1FF]

It means it is owned and operated by Mom and Pop and not owned by a Dutch bank and operated by a Israeli management company.

 

[Silverback]

Originally Posted by Eason

If you went to a restaurant that said "American owned and operated" and it was run by a ***********, you'd claim otherwise.
Don't project your racism on me.

 

[NorCal]

I would assume that the owner was white as opposed to from the Indian sub-continent.

 

[NorCal]

Originally Posted by Silverback

I would be interested in why you think this is racist in the least?

Because the suggestion is that you would prefer an "American" motel over one run by a "non-American". Otherwise why point it out?

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Silverback

I would be interested in why you think this is racist in the least?

because I think that the assumpion is that it is owned and operated by white people, not indians or other imagrants.