Skip to content

Search

Latest Stories

Alabama hotel owner gunned down in fight with man wanting a room

Pravin Patel, 76, is survived by his wife, brothers and a sister

Alabama hotel owner gunned down in fight with man wanting a room

AN ALABAMA HOTELIER, Pravin Raojibhai Patel, was shot and killed last week after a confrontation with a man asking for a room, according to the Sheffield, Alabama, Police Department. William Jeremy Moore, 34, was arrested in connection with the incident, which comes three years after a series of similar killings of Indian American Hotel owners.

Patel, 76, was the owner of the Hillcrest Motel in Sheffield. On Feb. 8, Moore came to the motel and tried to get a room when an altercation started between the two men.


“That is when Mr. Moore pulled a handgun and shot Mr. Patel,” Sheffield Police Chief Ricky Terry said in the report. “Mr. Moore was quickly apprehended by Sheffield Police on 13th Avenue when he was trying to break into an abandoned house.  When searching Mr. Moore, the murder weapon was found in his possession.”

Jemeriz Owens, who works as a barber across the street from Patel’s motel, told a local news station that he heard three gunshots go off back-to-back. He ran to the motel and found police attending to Patel, who was dead outside his office.

"That was the shocking part, man," said Owens. "I didn't think it was going to be Mr. Patel. There's always something going on over there, but that was the last thing I would've thought would happen."

Owens told WAAY 31 News Patel was just trying to do his job.

"He was outside," continued Owens. "He was just trying to get somebody to leave, and they didn't want to leave and they shot him."

ENEWS 02 14 24 Alabama shooting Moore mugshot William Moore, 34, is being held in the Sheffield City Jail in connection with Patel’s shooting death.

Moore is being held in the Sheffield City Jail until a warrant is issued, Terry said, and he will then be transported to the Colbert County Jail.

A funeral service was held for Patel at Morrison Funeral Home in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on Feb. 12, according to Patel’s obituary. He is survived by his wife, Renukaben Patel, and children, Nital Patel (Sandeep) and Nirmal Patel (Jeenal). He also has three brothers, Harshad, Indravaden and Harendra Patel, a sister, Manju Patel, and grandchildren Jaiden, Myya, Leeya and Ariyana Patel.

His parents, Raojibhai and Maniben Patel, and another brother, Hasmukh Patel, previously passed away.

“Mr. Patel was such a nice, warm gentleman. I knew him for many years as he owned one of the motels in our area,” said Susann Hamlin, president of the Colbert County Tourism Office in Tuscumbia, in a comment on Morrison Funeral Home’s website. “Such a pleasant and sweet man with a lovely wife and children. I am so sad for the family and also, glad that I had the privilege to know him.”

Bindoo Patel also left a comment.

“I knew Pravinbhai for the last 50 years. He was a very good person by heart,” Bindoo said. “I cannot believe this happened to him.”

In 2021, Cleveland, Mississippi, hotelier Yogesh Patel was beaten to death by a guest he had had evicted from his hotel earlier in the day. In March of that year, Usha and Dilip Patel were victims of a shooting in their Elkton, Maryland, hotel that left Usha dead and her husband wounded.

Other similar incidents also were reported that year. Cecil Staton, then AAHOA president and CEO, said at the time the attacks were part of a pattern.

“America’s hotel owners are shocked and outraged by this senseless act of violence against two small business owners doing their jobs,” Staton said. “Attacks against hoteliers continue to increase, and this is yet another horrendous episode of violence against Asian Americans that is plaguing our society. It must stop now.”

More for you

ESA Launches Client Connect: All-in-One Business Travel Hub

ESA launches ‘Client Connect’ for business travel

Summary:

  • Extended Stay America launched “Client Connect”, a business travel program for extended-stay travelers.
  • The program includes account management, long-stay savings, flexible policies, streamlined booking and a Direct Bill Program.
  • Client Connect leverages ESA’s 700+ locations offering amenities for extended stays.

EXTENDED STAY AMERICA launched "Client Connect", a business travel program for extended-stay travelers. The platform was developed for business travelers needing stays of weeks or months, with solutions for construction crews, traveling nurses, military personnel and others with long-term needs.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. Hotel Construction Hits 20-Quarter Low in June

CoStar: Hotel construction drops in June

Summary:

  • U.S. hotel rooms under construction fell year over year for the sixth straight month in June, hitting a 20-quarter low, CoStar reported.
  • About 138,922 rooms were under construction, down 11.9 percent from June 2024; the luxury segment had 6,443 rooms, up 4.1 percent year over year.
  • Lodging Econometrics recently said Dallas led all U.S. markets in hotel construction pipelines at the end of the first quarter, with 203 projects and 24,496 rooms.

THE NUMBER OF U.S. hotel rooms under construction declined year over year for the sixth straight month in June, reaching a 20-quarter low, according to CoStar. Additionally, more than half of all rooms under development are in the South, mostly outside the top 25 markets.

Keep ReadingShow less
G6 Hospitality Launches 24/7 Guest Support From August 1
Photo credit: G6 Hospitality

G6 launching 24x7 guest support on Aug. 1

Summary:

  • G6 Hospitality will launch 24x7 guest support on Aug. 1, expanding the current 18-hour window.
  • Escalations from phone, email and social media will be handled promptly by trained staff.
  • The service supports G6’s tech and service investments, including the AI-powered My6 app.

G6 HOSPITALITY, PARENT of Motel 6 and Studio 6, will launch a 24x7 customer support service for guests starting Aug. 1. The service extends the previous 18-hour window to full-day availability via phone, email and social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. travelers using mobile devices to book independent boutique hotel stays with personalized offers and smart tech in 2025

Study: Personalization boosts independent hotel bookings

Summary:

  • Around 95 percent of U.S. travelers are more likely to book independent hotels with personalized offers, according to TakeUp.
  • 59 percent plan more travel in 2025, with 78 percent favoring weekend getaways and 65 percent domestic trips.
  • Top booking deterrents are few reviews at 39 percent, unclear cleanliness or quality at 38 percent and inflexible cancellations at 29 percent.

PERSONALIZED OFFERS BASED on interests would make 95 percent of U.S. travelers more likely to book at an independent hotel, according to TakeUp, a revenue management platform for independent hotels. About 85 percent are open to technologies such as smart check-in, recommendations and AI-based pricing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chart showing decline in U.S. extended-stay hotel occupancy and RevPAR in May 2025

Report: May fifth month for drop in extended-stay occupancy

Summary:

  • Extended-stay occupancy fell 2.2 percent in May, the fifth straight monthly decline; ADR and RevPAR also dropped for a second consecutive month.
  • May marked 44 straight months of supply growth for the segment at 4 percent or less, with annual growth below the 4.9 percent long-term average.
  • Extended-stay room revenues rose 0.5 percent, while total industry revenue grew 0.9 percent, led by segments with little extended-stay supply.

EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL occupancy fell 2.2 percent in May, the fifth consecutive monthly decline, exceeding the 0.7 percent drop reported for all hotels by STR/CoStar, according to The Highland Group. Extended-stay occupancy was 10.5 percentage points above the total hotel industry, at the lower end of the long-term average premium range.

Keep ReadingShow less