Life Behind the Lobby
Winner, 2013 Book of the Year Award, sponsored by the ASA Section on Asia and Asian America
Winner, 2013 AAAS Book Award in Social Science, sponsored by the Association for Asian American Studies
Indian Americans own about half of all the motels in the United States. So it is curious that, despite their dominance in the motel industry, Indian American moteliers are concentrated in lower- and mid-budget markets. Most of these motel owners arrived in the United States with few resources and, broadly speaking, became self-employed, self-sufficient, successful immigrants living the “American Dream.” However, framing this group as embodying the American dream has profound implications. It perpetuates the idea of American exceptionalism―that this nation creates opportunities for newcomers unattainable elsewhere―and also downplays the inequalities of race, gender, culture, and globalization immigrants continue to face. Life Behind the Lobby explains the interesting fact that most of these motel owners come from the same region in India and 70 percent of them share the surname “Patel” though they are not related, and examines their accomplishments, marginalization, and what their own role has been in sustaining that duality.
PRAISE
“Pawan Dhingra writes about this incredible story in his new book.”
—Guy Raz, NPR’s All Things Considered
“Pawan Dhingra has written a pioneering book on the world of American motels and hotels. Close attention to the stories told by the people who work in the trade allows Dhingra to go behind the stereotypes, and give us a tale of human beings struggling to make livings and lives. This is a people’s sociology of hotel work.”
—Vijay Prashad, Trinity College
“Nearly half of the motels in the U.S. are owned by Indian Americans
. . . Pawan Dhingra set out to examine why such an ubiquitous and distinctly American roadside fixture became so popular among this community, focusing on a surge of Gujarati motel keepers who contributed to the ‘Patel motel’ phenomenon . . . From participating in community volleyball games to attending local Diwali festivals, Mr. Dhingra dove headfirst into a world he described as being ‘uniformly generous.’ In tracing the daily lives of Indian American moteliers, Mr. Dhingra discovered a world brimming with long hours, low wages and an intense dependence on the family network.”
—Aarti Virani, The Wall Street Journal
“Amherst College professor Pawan Dhingra questions whether these motel owners are symbols of the American dream or of persistent discrimination and inequity.”
—20 Travel Books By Asian And Pacific Islander Authors To Read Now, Travel and Leisure
“Pawan Dhingra has written a pioneering book on the world of American motels and hotels. Close attention to the stories told by the people who work in the trade allows Dhingra to go behind the stereotypes, and give us a tale of human beings struggling to make livings and lives. This is a people’s sociology of hotel work.”
—Vijay Prashad, Trinity College
“Life Behind the Lobby assesses a central debate about U.S. migration: should the achievements of self-employed migrants be regarded as evidence of the openness, tolerance, and meritocracy of an increasingly neoliberal American society, or should their sacrifices, confrontations with racism, and feelings of social marginalization be taken as proof of the enduring place of discrimination, inequality, and white privilege? Pawan Dhingra’s sophisticated and highly original analysis does much to advance our understanding of international migration, ethnic entrepreneurship, and migrants’ ability to work collectively to cope with, if not fully overcome, the circumstances they face.”
—Steven J. Gold, Michigan State University, author of The Store in the Hood: A Century of Business and Conflict