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To serve the Asian hotel industry better

Nitish S Rele in Tampa, Florida

This group represents about 65 per cent of the economy lodging properties in the United States and nearly 40 per cent of all hotel properties. Founded in Atlanta in 1989, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association represents more than 7,000 members who together own about 18,000 hotels, one million rooms and commands a market value of almost $ 40 billion.

"Today, AAHOA is a major force in the hospitality industry through our innovative programs of assistance, education and advocacy," said Bakulesh "Buggsi" Patel, its new chairman and the president of Buggsi Hospitality Group, based in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

With the impressive statistics mentioned earlier, Patel feels that AAHOA members need to make sure that their voice is heard on the hill. "We want to be in the forefront, fighting the cause," he said.

Among some of the issues on the new chairman's agenda are fair franchising, immigration, government relations, e-commerce and member services.

"Slowly, we are becoming aware of who we are, and so we need to cultivate that into a powerful force," he said. "E-commerce plays an important role today. We want to bring our membership into the technology age by providing them with good Web accessibility."

One of the ways in which AAHOA keeps in constant touch with its members is via the one-day Super Regional Conferences that are held every year across the country and attended by hundreds of hoteliers. This year, a total of 19 one-day conferences are to be held in cities like Los Angeles, Portland, Columbus, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, etc.

"Since our association is so huge and our members so spread out, we hold the meetings at different venues at different times. We feel that we need to educate our members on issues such as estate planning and managing assets."

At each conference, there is a trade show featuring products of prominent industry vendors. "We also attend every major franchise convention," says Patel.

Patel wants all the other Asian American associations to get together with AAHOA so they can work on a united front. "We as an association are out there not only to fight hotel issues but to make sure that the rest of the Asian community is involved in what we are doing and we want to be involved in what they are doing," said Patel. "We want to join them so we can be heard collectively and make the difference."

Born in Zambia, Africa, and educated in England, Patel came to the US in 1988. That year, he built his first hotel -- a 51-unit Super 8 in La Grande, Oregon -- and began operating it with his sister while they both learned the hospitality business.

Today, he is president of the Buggsi Hospitality group in Oregon outside Portland, which owns and operates 18 hotel properties in the Pacific Northwest, including Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Northern California.

Patel has held several leadership positions in key industry groups. He served two terms as president of the Oregon Lodging Association (1998-1999) and has been active in the American Hotel & Motel Association, and is currently serving as vice chair of the Lodging Industry Rating Advisory Council. He is also a member of the Credit Card Advisory Committee, the Council of Inns & Suites, the International Council of Hotel & Motel Management Companies, and the American Hotel & Motel Political Action Committee.

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