Valerie Whitney, business writer for the News Journal, could not have better recapped her report on the theme of the last Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA)1 meeting with the invocation expressed by guest speaker Councilman Josh Wagner (Volusia, Florida): “You need to speak up guys.”2
The councilman encouraged the estimated 100 hotel owners in attendance to participate more actively in public hearings on such issues as property taxes. (AAHOA is scheduled to participate in two upcoming townhall meetings in Fort Myers, Sept. 23, and Tampa, Sept.24.) The other speakers also summoned all to redefine its relationship with their local government and tourism development councils.
Noting that already the majority of Best Western franchisees are Indian American-owned, the Florida regional director of the organization, Kirit Patidar, also urged members to play a more active role in the political process beginning with public issues that have a direct impact on their business.
But it was Bharat Patel of Econo Lodges of America Franchise Association Inc. in Sarasota, who echoing such a plea, delved into why Indian Americans who have become major players in the industry are holding themselves back.
The councilman encouraged the estimated 100 hotel owners in attendance to participate more actively in public hearings on such issues as property taxes. (AAHOA is scheduled to participate in two upcoming townhall meetings in Fort Myers, Sept. 23, and Tampa, Sept.24.) The other speakers also summoned all to redefine its relationship with their local government and tourism development councils.
Noting that already the majority of Best Western franchisees are Indian American-owned, the Florida regional director of the organization, Kirit Patidar, also urged members to play a more active role in the political process beginning with public issues that have a direct impact on their business.
But it was Bharat Patel of Econo Lodges of America Franchise Association Inc. in Sarasota, who echoing such a plea, delved into why Indian Americans who have become major players in the industry are holding themselves back.
All of us in this room have four things in common. Our parents told us to study hard, get a good education and play by the rules. They also told us not to get involved with politics. But the last eight years has taught us that the American Dream is slipping away.There is comfort for some, including our more senior Asian Americans, in keeping with traditional tenets, but those are not enough to sustain us and succeed in the broader American landscape. It is a difficult balancing act for some, but a necessary one, which our forefathers facing more severe circumstances in our history have more heavily invested in. Speak up!
1www.aahoa.com
2Valerie Whitney, “Association director: Asian hoteliers must be more visible”, Daytona Beach News Journal, September 19, 2009
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