How Gujarati Immigrants Built a Hotel Legacy From Handshake Loans

Kanji Desai's journey began with a secret border crossing and led to the lease of the first Indian-operated hotel in Sacramento during World War II, when Japanese-American owners were interned. That single lease became the foundation of a network built on trust, as Desai and other early immigrants extended handshake loans to newcomers, enabling them to lease properties and bring their families over.

The practice of informal lending, based on community reputation rather than contracts, allowed successive waves of Gujarati immigrants to enter the hotel business with little capital. Each successful owner would, in turn, sponsor the next, creating a chain of ownership that spread from California to other states.

By the 1970s, Gujarati families had established a visible presence in the American motel industry, often operating budget properties along highways and in small towns. The community's reliance on mutual aid and shared knowledge of the trade helped overcome barriers of language, credit, and discrimination.

Today, the legacy of those early handshake loans is evident in the thousands of hotels owned by Indian-Americans, a significant portion of them Gujarati. The system, though informal, proved durable, adapting to changing immigration laws and economic conditions while maintaining its core principle of communal support.