AH MARCH 2024
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6 ASIAN HOSPITALITY MARCH 2024
ravin Raojibhai Patel, Alabama
hotelier who was gunned down Feb.
8 after an altercation at his hotel, is
being remembered by leaders at AAHOA
as a family man and a good businessman.
AAHOA also is condemning the killing
as a senseless act of violence.
William Jeremy Moore, 34, was
arrested in connection with the shooting
of Patel, 76, originally from the village of
Anand in Gujarat, India, according to the
Sheffield, Alabama, Police Department.
Moore came to the Hilllcrest Motel that
Patel owned and tried to get a room
when an altercation started between the
two men.
“That is when Mr. Moore pulled a
handgun and shot Mr. Patel,” Sheffield
Police Chief Ricky Terry said in
the report. “Mr. Moore was quickly
apprehended by Sheffield Police on 13th
Avenue when he was trying to break into
an abandoned house. When searching
Mr. Moore, the murder weapon was
found in his possession.”
Moore is being held in the Sheffield
City Jail until a warrant is issued, Terry
said, and he will then be transported to
the Colbert County Jail. Sanjay Patel,
AAHOA’s Alabama regional director,
said in a statement that Pravin Patel
spent more than four decades in the
town of Sheffield, owning and operating
the same motel.
“He was a very family-oriented
person, jolly, and a keen businessman,”
Sanjay said. “Everyone in town knew him
as a familiar face in the community after
being there 40-plus years, and the family
was well-known in the community for
being genuine and caring.”
Bharat Patel, AAHOA chairman,
condemned the killing.
“Senseless acts of violence have
no place in our communities, and
our hearts are breaking for Pravin’s
family, including his wife, children, and
grandchildren,” he said. “No family
should have to endure what Pravin’s
family is going through, and we send our
condolences to everyone who knew and
loved him.”
“The loss of a loved one under such
circumstances is an unimaginable
tragedy that no family should ever
have to endure,” said Laura Lee Blake,
AAHOA president and CEO. “As a
long-standing businessman in his
community, Pravin was known for his
kindness and his beautiful family. We
pray for great comfort and strength
during this impossibly difficult time
for those who knew and loved him, and
for his legacy of service and hospitality
to continue for many generations to
come.”
A funeral service was held for Patel at
Morrison Funeral Home in Tuscumbia,
Alabama, on Feb. 12, according to Patel’s
obituary. He is survived by his wife,
Renukaben Patel, two children and
other family. His parents, Raojibhai and
Maniben Patel, and another brother,
Hasmukh Patel, previously passed away.
In 2021, Cleveland, Mississippi,
hotelier Yogesh Patel was beaten to
death by a guest he had had evicted
from his hotel earlier in the day. In
March of that year, Usha and Dilip
Patel were victims of a shooting in
their Elkton, Maryland, hotel that left
Usha dead and her husband wounded.
Other similar incidents also were
reported that year.
Friends, colleagues mourn
slain Alabama hotelier
AAHOA regional director remembers Pravin Patel as ‘family-oriented’ and
‘a keen businessman’
Choice Hotels International continued its efforts to acquire Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in January by
naming eight nominees for the Wyndham board of directors. However, the current board said Choice
has not adequately addressed its concerns about the proposed acquisition of the company and the
nominees for the board are meant to rubber stamp the deal.
Sheffield, Alabama, police investigate the Hillcrest Motel where the owner, 76-year-old Pravin Raojibhai
Patel, was gunned down by a man seeking a room.
William Jeremy Moore, 34, was arrested in
connection with the shooting of Patel.
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