Americas Best Value Inn's Bharat Patel Wins Family Hotelier of the Year Award
CLEVELAND, OH - July 15, 2010 - Americas Best Value Inn® is proud to announce that one of its own, Bharat Patel, earned the highest honors in the second annual Procter & Gamble Professional "Family Hotelier of the Year" award competition. Patel, the director of operations at his family's ABVI in El Monte, CA, received the award at the recent Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) Annual Convention in Chicago.
The Family Hotelier of the Year Award recognizes AAHOA members who contribute to their communities and have the highest levels of skill, determination, and sacrifice necessary to run successful family hotel businesses. Patel was selected as a regional finalist and then, in the first year that the public was invited to have a say in the grand prize winner selection, received the greatest number of online votes.
Patel is active in his community, serving as chairman of the City Planning Commission, as a volunteer police reserve member, and as a Kiwanis Club member for more than 10 years. He remains committed to helping those less fortunate, delivering turkey baskets to needy families each year at Thanksgiving. In addition, he is a co-founder of the El Monte Helping Hands Program, begun in January 2006, where hoteliers donate two room nights per month to families in need of lodging. To date, the program has donated more than 250 room nights valued at nearly $21,000.
“Bharat is truly deserving of this honor and I couldn't be happier that he won,” said Roger Bloss, the Founder, President and CEO of Vantage Hospitality, which also includes the Canadas Best Value Inn®, Chinas Best Value Inn®, Value Inn Worldwide® and Lexington Collection® brands. “Bharat has been an exemplary ABVI member with a highly rated property and strong presence in the community. It's very exciting to have someone from the Vantage family win such a prestigious award.”
Patel received $5,000 in prize money, a portion of which he donated to the San Gabriel Valley Hospitality Association's Charity Golf Classic on Sept. 10 that will benefit City of Hope, Rebuilding Together, and the SGVHA Scholarship Fund. He also received up to $5,000 to cover the three-day, two-night trip for his family to attend the 2010 AAHOA Annual Convention.
About Vantage Hospitality Group, Inc.
Headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla., Vantage Hospitality Group is the 10th largest hotel company worldwide and the only hotel company to be ranked four years in a row on the Inc. 500/5000 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies. Founded in 1996, the company has grown to include a broad spectrum of hospitality-related ventures, managing resources in hotel ownership, management, marketing, national brand affiliation and real estate. Vantage's award-winning membership hotel brand, Americas Best Value Inn, has been recognized by the lodging industry as the fastest-growing chain over the past decade. The company continues to grow with The Lexington Collection, the only membership hotel brand in the upper-mid and upscale lodging segments. Visit www.AmericasBestValueInn.com, www.LexingtonCollection.com and www.VantageHospitality.com for more information.
Contact: Al Cohen
Americas Best Value Inn
888-316-2378
[email protected]