From humble beginnings and in pursuit of a better future for their family, Champ Patel and his wife, Bhanu Patel immigrated to the United States.  With a bachelor's degree in civil engineering that he had completed in India, Champ did not have previous knowledge or training in the hotel industry.  Champ, his wife, and brother, Vasant Patel, purchased their first 32 room motel named "The Dunes Motel", in Blythe, California.  Collectively, they worked hard day and night, learning the business and building their future.

On December 31, 1980, Champ and his wife moved to Seminole, Oklahoma where they had purchased the “Village Inn”.  On February 9th, 1981 he and his family moved to Weatherford, Oklahoma, after also purchasing the "Kendall House Motel'.  This 44 room property was later converted to an Econo Lodge.  This was the Champ’s first introduction to franchising a property and he never looked back.

He bought a neighboring 72 room property called 'Tropicana Inn' in Weatherford.  This hotel was converted to a 'Days Inn', and was his first major conversion. Later during the same year, the downturn in midwest oil markets left many properties in distress, which created buying opportunities for him and his partners.

They built the Hampton Inn, in Yukon, Oklahoma, after Hilton's purchase of the Hampton Inn brand.  This was their first Hilton branded property and the beginning of another great partnership with another hotel franchise.

They purchased a 5 story office building in Oklahoma City, the building was stripped down to red iron and an elevator shaft. It was converted into a Hampton Inn. This was his first adaptive reuse development. To this day, he still believes this was one of his biggest achievements.

1995 - With an ever growing portfolio of hotels, "CHAMPION HOTELS" was formed.

Today, Champion Hotels is the largest privately held hotel operator in the United States, with over 150 franchised locations.