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CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL appears to be moving on from its failed attempt to acquire Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, according to statements from its executive team during the company's first quarter earnings call May 8. The quarter saw overall positive performance for the company, including record growth in its pipeline and $63.7 million adjusted net income, a 9 percent rise over the same period of last year. The main portion of the call was dedicated to reporting the highlights of the quarter. For example, Choice's EBITDA during the quarter grew to $124.3 million, a first quarter record and a 17 percent increase compared to the same period of 2023. Its global pipeline as of March 31 increased 10 percent to a company record of more than 115,000 rooms, including a 36 percent increase in the global pipeline for conversion rooms. Its domestic rooms pipeline increased by 11 percent since Dec. 31, highlighted by a 59 percent increase for conversion rooms.

THE HISTORY OF Indian immigrants in the U.S. could fill several books, but Mahendra Doshi has captured a core aspect of it with his book "Surat to San Francisco: How the Patels from Gujarat Established the Hotel Business in California 1942-1960." The book is, as the title says, the story of the individuals who first left their home for a roundabout journey to the American Dream. Doshi is journalist in San Jose, California, not a businessman himself, but he is originally from Vadia in the Indian state of Gujarat. His family moved to Calcutta in West Bengal where Doshi earned degrees from Presidency College and the University of Calcutta before moving to the U.S. in 1967 and eventual graduated with a master's degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. "I have never even thought of business. I had a degree in journalism and I did marketing work for General Motors. That's where I made my living for 30 years," Doshi said. "At the same time, I pursued my journalistic impulses. I wrote for mostly all those ethnic papers, Indian ethnic papers like India Times of Chicago and India West and India Post." Doshi also published two "Who's Who among Indians" lists in 1976 and 1981. That whet his appetite for exploring his people's history.

U.S. HOTELS ADDED 700 jobs to their payrolls in June, according to the latest government data, but the nationwide workforce shortage continues to make it difficult for hotels to fill open positions, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Total hotel employment stands at about 1.92 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is more than 196,000 fewer workers than in February 2020, reflecting a scarcity of available employees. Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised down the total number of hotel jobs in the country, which eliminated job gains for the industry that were reported in prior months, AHLA said in a statement. "Halfway through 2024, the hotel industry is behind where it needs to be when it comes to hiring staff, despite near-record high wages and expanding workplace benefits and flexibility," said Kevin Carey, AHLA's interim president and CEO. "The reason is the nationwide workforce shortage, which is preventing hoteliers from meeting their full potential as demand for travel remains strong. Both Congress and the administration can provide relief to our members, many of whom are small business owners, and AHLA will continue to call for action to expand the pool of available workers."