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VICTORVILLE, CALIFORNIA, March 18, 2003: Victorville Mayor Terry Caldwell broke coconuts on rocks as part of a traditional Indian consecration of new property. The Chhatrala Group, which owns the the Comfort Suites and 25 other hotels, was breaking ground on two major hotels and a convention center north of Bear Valley Road on Wednesday. The ceremony was a combination of the Chhatrala and Patel families’ United States citizenship and Indian heritage — golden shovels from Desert Community Bank to break ground, and coconuts, incense, rice and prayers to Umiya Devi Mata, the patron Goddess of Maripura village, in Gujarat, where the families are from. “Indian-Americans operate 60 percent of the hotels in the U.S.,” said Shailesh Patel, a principal of Chhatrala Group. Chhatrala Group is a multi-brand operator, managing different brands of hotels using franchise agreements. The group’s new hotel at 12603 Mariposa Road will be a Hilton Garden Inn. Adjacent to the hotel will be a 12,000-square-foot convention center. Just east of the company’s Comfort Suites Hotel will be a Hotel Extended Studio. After the second groundbreaking, Chhatral Group offered lunch. One serving cart offered traditional Indian food, another cart had pizza and Cokes.

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