A dozen second- and third-generation hoteliers at eight hotel ownership companies have collaborated to purchase and donate 25,000 protective face masks to 11 hospitals in the four states where the respective companies operate their hotels: California, Texas, Oregon, and Washington.
The 12 hoteliers and their eight companies are: Taran Patel, managing partner at A1 Hospitality Group, which operates properties in Oregon and Washington; Neal Patel and Avi “Sunny” Patel, founders and managing partners of Blue Chip Hotels, which operates in Texas; Shirin Patel, principal at Canterbury Hotel Group, with properties in Oregon; Suraj R. Patel, president, and Ravi Govin, vice president, of Clutch Hotel Group in Texas; Bijal Patel, CEO and principal of Coast Redwood Hospitality, in Northern California; Mayur “Mike” Patel, managing partner, and Amish Patel, director, of Prosper Hospitality in Texas; Mitesh Jivan and Alpesh Jivan, founders and managing partners of TenSeventy Hospitality in California; and Sawan H. Patel, managing partner at Unity Hotels Group in Texas.
The mask donation represents a joint effort by Neal Patel, who serves as secretary of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), and Bijal Patel, who is chairman of the California Hotel & Lodging Association (CH&LA).
“Hospitality is not just our job—it’s a calling and a lifelong bond to serving people,” said Bijal Patel. “Although we are currently physically separated from our guests, helping our neighborhoods has no boundaries—especially medical workers who are facing and overcoming a very special level of hardship every minute.”
Added Neal Patel, “Hoteliers are experts at providing a safe, easy night of rest to travelers who have spent a hard day on the road. During this crisis environment, we want to make work a little safer and easier for the health care first responders who are working so very hard on behalf of the communities where we do business.”
Taran Patel, managing principal of A1 Hospitality Group based in Kennewick, Washington, explained his reason for joining the contribution group: “As our company thought about what our local communities needed, we quickly realized there was a dire need for protective medical equipment, masks in particular. We immediately put together an energized group of young hoteliers who could act fast to leverage our collective resources and to make an immediate, meaningful impact.”
Mitesh Jivan of TenSeventy Hospitality in California—who also operates Jivan LED, an LED lighting business—was able to use his LED contacts in Asia to secure a large quantity of masks at a time of high demand. “Americans were being told to watch and wait, but my style is not to wait—I act,” said Jivan. “I never thought I would be figuring out the logistics of importing surgical masks as fast as possible, but it’s been great to mobilize our resources in support of the health care workers who are supporting us every day.”
Sawan Patel of Unity Hotels Group in Texas added, “Hoteliers understand the importance of doing little things behind the scenes for our guests, so providing these masks is a small way we can give medical workers a valuable tool as they fight for us on the front line.”
The mask donations will begin later this week at the following 11 hospitals: Adventist Health in Ukiah Valley and Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, California; Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland and Providence Memorial Hospital in Hood River, Oregon; Parkland Health in Dallas, Memorial Hermann in Sugar Land, Memorial Hermann Southwest in Houston, and Ascension Seton Williamson in Round Rock, Texas; and Trios Health in Kennewick, Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco, and Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Washington.
