Summary:
- “The Patel Motel Story” will screen at South Asian film festivals in the U.S. and abroad.
- The documentary is based on Mahendra Doshi’s research.
- It is directed by Emmy-winning producers Amar Shah and Rahul Rohatgi.
“THE PATEL MOTEL Story,” a documentary premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, will screen at South Asian film festivals in the U.S., including Seattle, San Francisco, New Orleans and Orlando, Florida, as well as Vancouver, Canada. The documentary explores South Asian immigrants, especially the Patels and their role in the U.S. hotel industry.
The documentary, filmed by Emmy-winning producers Amar Shah and Rahul Rohatgi, is based on Mahendra Doshi’s decades of research.
“I am delighted that mainstream American media are now recognizing the Patel hospitality narrative,” Doshi told Asian Hospitality. “The Patel hoteliers have achieved unparalleled success. The Patel hospitality narrative is a unique American immigrant story, symbolizing America as a land of opportunity where success can be achieved through hard work, perseverance and resolve.”
He praised the producers and directors of The Patel Motel Story for bringing it to the big screen.
“This story needs to be told,” Doshi said.
Doshi’s book, “Surat to San Francisco: How the Patels from Gujarat Established the Hotel Business in California 1942–1960”, chronicles the history of Indian immigrants in the U.S. hospitality industry. The film includes interviews with Patels, archival material and insights from AAHOA conventions.
“You’ve heard of Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott. But behind the scenes, more than 60 percent of America’s motels are run by South Asian families—many of them Patels,” Shah wrote on social media. “This is for the uncles and aunties who handed us room keys and life lessons. And for the next generation writing their own stories.”
The Tenderloin Museum in San Francisco will launch the Indo-American Hotelier History Exhibit in 2026, highlighting the contributions of Indian immigrants to the U.S. hotel industry.
