Who We Are
BPR didn’t get into the hotel industry for the money. When we first started doing business in 1973, we did it to give back — to our family and our community. Without them, we wouldn’t be here; because of them, we work to give others the opportunities that they gave us.
In November 1973, Bhupendra “B.B.” Patel took a leap of faith. Without visiting beforehand, he bought the Varsity Motel in Redwood City, California, and moved his family there from Pennsylvania. B.B. saw it as a way to thank them for their sacrifices; a decade earlier, his family had saved enough money for him to move from his native India to study in the United States.
By the late ‘70s, the manager’s apartment at the Varsity Motel was filled with 19 of B.B.’s relatives. Juggling jobs as an engineer and hotel manager, he grew his business one property at a time. With each new acquisition, he gave his cousins and nieces an opportunity to succeed; he’d give them the keys, and the possibility to make a better life for themselves.
Soon enough, the whole family became involved. As BPR Hotels continued to expand, B.B. never forgot the lessons his parents taught him: Be scrappy and hardworking; authentic and humble; understanding and committed to growth. He passed them down to each relative that joined the business, and quickly installed them as the core values that would guide his company.
At the start of the 2000’s, B.B.’s children, Perry and Rita, took leadership roles and further grew BPR’s mission and infrastructure. Today, what started as a single-property enterprise now encompasses 13 lifestyle and branded hotels and three restaurants. With our core values in mind, we’re excited to see what the future holds.
A Trip Through Time
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Year
1944
Our owner, Bhupendra "B.B." Patel, is born in a small farming village near Surat, India. With his parents' help, he becomes the first member of his family to move to the United States; he goes on to earn a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University.
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Year
1973
B.B. buys the Varsity Motel - a 30-room property in Redwood City, California - sight unseen, and moves his family across the country soon after. Living out of the manager's apartment, B.B. pulls double shifts: mechanical engineer by day, hotel operator by night.
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Year
1981
Now fully dedicated to hotel management, B.B. takes another big step: Taking out a loan at an interest rate of over 20 percent, he develops the Best Western Mountain View Inn from the ground-up, his first full construction project.
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Year
1996
B.B. acquires and renovates the Cabana Hotel. Built in 1962 by actress Doris Day, the property was recognized by Life Magazine as "one of the best hotels on the west coast" before falling into disrepair. After extensive work, B.B. reopens it as his first full-service hotel.
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Year
2007
BPR buys the Hotel Shattuck Plaza, marking the company's first foray into the lifestyle hotel business. The acquisition follows BPR's development model: Originally built in 1906, the structure survived the San Francisco earthquake and was considered one of Downtown Berkeley's finest buildings.
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Year
2015
BPR signs deals with Marriott and Hilton to develop a handful of properties: the Hi-Lo Hotel in Portland, OR; Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz, CA; Homewood Suites in Belmont, CA; and a Hampton Inn.
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Year
Today
With roughly 700 employees and a new partnership with InterContinental Hotels Group, BPR continues to expand. Our values have helped us make it this far; we're confident that they'll continue to guide us in the future.
Developing Responsibility
When it comes to expansion, BPR doesn't follow a one-size-fits-all strategy. Our ultimate goal is to serve our guests - and our prospective community - as best we can, and to achieve this, we follow three simple guidelines.
Whether renovating an existing landmark or starting a build from scratch, our creative team takes each property's unique background into consideration. Once we have a concept, we strive to make it as energy- and waste-efficient as possible. And when it's finally time to start construction, we make a point of partnering with local design firms, small businesses, and nonprofits.