Hotel Americana, Owned by Immigrants?
by Lina Trivedi
August 25, 2007
For some time now, there has been a battle within the hotel industry between properties that are owned by immigrants or those of ethnic decent versus those that designate themselves as "American" in order to distinguish themselves as not being an immigrant. Throughout the midwest and beyond, signs and placards will be found mostly on independently owned hotels and motels that read "American Owned". According to news reports from various cities that have covered these signs and the questions they raise stay at such properties because they associate the sign with cleanliness, patriotism and some have even said that the front desk clerks at "the other hotels" do not even speak English. Some people are very ignorant. I remember once being in a restaurant where the seating was very tight, and an elderly white woman was trying to sit in the table behind me. She bumped into my chair several times and turned around to scold me "Can't you move over?!" I turned around and looked at her and it took me a second to respond because part of me was completely shocked that she would talk so rudely to me. Before I had a chance to respond, she screamed at me "Do you even speak English?" It took everything I had not to choke her. I told her that I scored a 94% in grammar on my Iowa Basic Tests so my guess is that I speak English fairly well. Some people that we live around are simple minded and possess a lack of understanding of the world they live in. I would be an idiot to think that everyone on the world is Gujarati, however some races and ethnicities maintain this mindset that the only people in the world are those that are just like them. That is precisely the mentality that has resulted in these signs posted on some hotels. What does that mean that they are American-owned? There are three hotel properties that are owned by members of my family and they are also American-owned. Within the franchise, the property has been recognized as the property with the most amenities of that chain within the midwest. Furthermore, awards have been earned nearly every year since they have been open on cleanliness and service. And I know for a fact that the front desk staff at these locations speak English. In fact, most of the front desk staff is bilingual. I worked the front desk at one of the properties for over a year. In my experience, we had many older guests that likely came to our property because it was one of the only ones in the area that had an indoor-heated swimming pool, or maybe it was the sauna or maybe the several jacuzzi rooms that we had available. According to AAHOA, which many of us are familiar with, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, over 37% of hotel properties in the United States are owned by Asians. Over 50% of motels (which by definition is a single building that provides guests direct access to the parking lot) are owned by Asians. Some people have a problem with that, and they are responding by posting these lame signs that say "American Owned". I don't know why all Asians who have independently-owned properties put up similar signs on their hotels? Many of us are just as American as the guy sitting next to us and it would be a great way to dilute the original intentions of these signs. Put a big American flag up in front of your property while you are at it. What would they do next, put up signs that say "White People Owned"? It is all very disturbing to me. As one hotel owner said in a local newspaper, this sort of discrimination was supposed to have ended years ago. And here we are in 2007 trying to study the choices people make in their travel accommodations, and there is an indicator that reveals choice made based on the color of skin. Such signs should not be a factor. It is a low blow, but the good news is that we are all strong and such a desperate attempt to gain business will not hurt us in the end. We are smart and we will do something like what my uncle did. Build a killer indoor-heated swimming pool and then no one can compete with you unless they invest thousands of dollars to bring their property up to par with the competition. And when the scores of tourists come to stay at your property, make sure that they see the American flag in your lobby and the framed picture of your family with the mayor or governor or president, and that you convey that you are American and you are darn proud of it.