Celebrating World Tourism Day: Meet Ravi Patel, CEO of SINA Hospitality

When the now CEO of SINA Hospitality Ravi Patel graduated college he worked for a handful of reputable companies across both Virginia and Georgia. After just a few years, he found that the typical 9-5 job was not for him. He didn’t have a passion for anything that he was doing or have the desire to continue in a company he did not love. He always found himself striving to do more, but those companies could not do that for him. In 2013, Ravi took the leap and started SINA Hospitality with the support of his family, and never looked back.

“As a child I grew up in the hospitality business, but I never thought I would start working in the business at the age that I did” says Patel. “Like many others in the hospitality field, I walked into it without the traditional story one would expect you to have.”

SINA Hospitality reinvests in world-class properties and exemplary employees to deliver an extraordinary experience to travelers staying in premium-branded hotels across the South-East. Based in Richmond, VA, SINA Hospitality operates 28 hotels in 6 states and has created a track record of on-time and on-budget developments for world-class hotel brands such as Marriott, Hilton, IGH, Best Western, and more.

As Co-Founder and CEO, Ravi oversees the family-based culture, strategic planning, and overall operations for all of SINA Hospitality’s properties. As part of SINA’s unique culture that has helped lead to its success, Ravi has created and maintained relationships with companies and businesses such as Bryant & Stratton College.

“I view our partnership with Bryant & Stratton College to be one of the best that SINA has” Ravi said. SINA works with Bryant & Stratton College to give hospitality students the opportunity to get hands on experience in the field. “This isn’t a partnership where we go out and promote our companies, we both work behind the scenes to get students internships and potential careers. The college has provided us with excellent interns and graduates who came into our properties and worked positions that we needed filled” says Ravi.

When discussing the amount of career possibilities in the hospitality business Ravi said, “the unique thing about hospitality is that you can go in many different directions with your career; there is not one sole path that will get you to where you want to go.” Hospitality graduates could work for a franchisee like SINA or a corporate owned hotel.

At Bryant & Stratton College, we recognize the versatility of a hospitality degree. We prepare our students with the skills, experiences, and knowledge to work in various settings where an enjoyable experience for travelers is provided.

“Corporate companies have more opportunities for where you can go, from working at a hotel level to working in the corporate office. Many people I deal with have done just that. For example, my purchasing agent for Marriott started as a telemarketing sales agent for the company, and the Vice President of Franchising for North America started out as an operations manager” Ravi said. The room for growth within a hospitality company is endless.

“The hospitality programs offered at Bryant & Stratton College are very well suited for what students will experience in real life applications, and that is important as most colleges don’t focus on that” Ravi said. You never know what to expect in hospitality as every day is different, and that proved true during the pandemic. Ravi shared that “the pandemic hit the reset button in the entire hospitality industry.”

From sanitation to travel restrictions, the impact the pandemic had on the industry was unfathomable. “There are so many hotel companies who closed hotels, initiated massive layoffs, went out of business, foreclosed on hotels, etc., but we were fortunate enough to be able to keep all of our hotels open, did not lay off or furlough any employees, did not reduce rate of pay for anyone, and were able to work with our lenders to keep the mortgage payments on time” Ravi said.

With the proper experience Ravi and SINA Hospitality were able to remain successful and come back to make a turn for the better. As restrictions were lifted consumers began to resume traveling and continue to explore. SINA Hospitality and Bryant & Stratton College will continue to focus on the success of students and give them the experience they need to thrive in the hospitality business. “We are excited to not only further this partnership, but also help grow and refine the program with the college” says Ravi.

Are you interested in learning more about hospitality programs at Bryant & Stratton College? Contact us today!