>Rdp060707: Reverted edits by 99.234.245.194 (talk) to last revision by Monkbot: not providing a reliable source (WP:CITE, WP:RS)

2021-06-23T02:00:55Z

Reverted edits by 99.234.245.194 (talk) to last revision by Monkbot: not providing a reliable source (WP:CITE, WP:RS)

New page

{{short description|Indian-American businessman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sant Singh Chatwal
| image = Sant Singh Chatwal.jpg
| caption = Sant Singh Chatwal at Asian American Human Rights watch event in [[New York City]]
| birth_date = 1946
| birth_place =
| nationality = Indian-American
| occupation = Founder and chair, Dream Hotel Group
| alma_mater =
}}
'''Sant Singh Chatwal''' is an [[Indian American]] businessman and founder of the Dream Hotel Group where he is chair of the board. He has founded numerous hotel brands including The Chatwal, Dream Hotels, Time Hotels, and Unscripted Hotels, which operate in the United States and internationally.<ref name="CommercialObserver"/><ref name="HinduBLExpand">{{cite news|last1=Chatterjee|first1=Purvita|title=Hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal takes his Dream to new markets|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/hotelier-sant-singh-chatwal-takes-his-dream-to-new-markets/article8701567.ece|access-date=21 February 2018|work=Business Line|date=7 June 2016}}</ref>

==Early life==

Chatwal is from a refugee family that fled the [[West Punjab]] province of [[Greater India]] during the [[Partition of India]] in 1947.<ref name="HauteLiving">{{cite news|title=Sant Chatwal is Hautel Living a Dream|url=http://hauteliving.com/2008/09/sant-chatwal-is-hautel-living-a-dream/3756/|access-date=15 January 2018|publisher=Haute Living|date=29 September 2008}}</ref> He was one year old when the family left with his four brothers and three sisters. They settled in [[Faridkot, Punjab]], India where the family became small [[merchant]]s. He joined the [[Indian Armed Forces]] at the age of 18 where, according to Chatwal, he served as a fighter pilot on the country's first and only aircraft carrier, {{INS|Vikrant|R11|6}}.<ref name="HauteLiving"/> Chatwal grew up with [[Sikh]] traditions of his family.<ref>{{cite news|title=I'm proud of my identity|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1093447101.html|access-date=21 February 2018|work=Hindustan Times|date=25 June 2005}}</ref>

==Career==

Chatwal left India for [[Addis Ababa]], [[Ethiopia]] to work for the country's commercial airliner.{{when|date=April 2020}} When he arrived he was told he would be required to take off his turban, cut his hair, and remove his beard.<ref name="ChicagoSunTimesHB">{{cite news|last1=Darby|first1=Edwin|title=Indian restaurateur curries favor with investors, customers alike|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3814166.html|access-date=15 January 2018|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times (HighBeam Research)|date=8 March 1987}}</ref> He declined due to his Sikh heritage.<ref name="HauteLiving"/> He then became a teacher in a local public school and became friends with the owner of a restaurant who asked him to fill in for a few months when he became ill.<ref name="CommercialObserver"/> He improved the business and was later asked to become a partner, later buying out the other owner.<ref name="ChicagoSunTimesHB"/> In the course of time he became the owner of two restaurants serving [[Indian cuisine]].<ref name="ForbesFall">{{cite news|last1=Bahree|first1=Megha|title=San Chatwal: An Indian American Hotelier's Fall From Grace|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/04/22/sant-chatwal-an-indian-american-hoteliers-falls-from-grace/|access-date=27 December 2017|work=Forbes|date=22 April 2014}}</ref>

In 1975, he left the country with some of his savings and opened a restaurant in [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada.<ref name="ChicagoSunTimesHB"/> Chatwal also entered the hotel business while in Canada, purchasing his first hotel in 1976.<ref name="CommercialObserver">{{cite news|last1=Schram|first1=Lauren Elkies|title=The Story of the Dream Hotel's Sant Singh Chatwal|url=https://commercialobserver.com/2018/02/sant-singh-chatwal-dream-hotel-group-profile-dream-time-unscripted/|access-date=21 February 2018|work=Commercial Observer|date=7 February 2018}}</ref> In 1979, he opened Bombay Palace, the first fine-dining Indian restaurant in [[Midtown Manhattan]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hudson|first1=Kris|title=Survivor Stands on Verge of a Grand New Expansion|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703418004575456023690808554|access-date=21 February 2018|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=30 August 2010|ref=WallStreetJournalBombay}}</ref> Chatwal expanded Bombay Palace internationally, opening restaurants in London, Hong Kong, and Canada, and eventually becoming a publicly traded company.<ref name="ArabianBusiiness">{{cite news|last1=Attwood|first1=Ed|title=Sant Singh Chatwal: King of New York|url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/sant-singh-chatwal-king-of-new-york-519070.html|access-date=27 December 2017|work=Arabian Business|date=20 September 2013}}</ref>

He continued to acquire hotels, adding properties in Florida in 1980 and New York in 1982. He later combined all his properties into Hampshire Hotels & Resorts. He suffered from the real estate crisis in the 1990s and was forced to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was then he began to bring in investors as partners and focused on lifestyle branding of hotels, opening properties in New York, Los Angeles, and internationally.<ref name="ArabianBusiiness"/> By 2006, he was the largest independent owner of hotels in the United States, operating 13 hotels with 3,000 rooms valued at $750 million.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sant Chatwal to open his 'Dream' hotels in India|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1115845751.html|access-date=23 February 2018|work=Hindustan Times|date=30 August 2006}}</ref>

Chatwal is close to former US President [[Bill Clinton]] and his family, and has made substantial financial donations to his election campaigns, as well as to other causes and campaigns of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], engaging prominent representatives of the party. He has accompanied the Clintons on several journeys to India, and is a Trustee of the [[William J. Clinton Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freebeacon.com/politics/string-of-felons-worked-with-nonprofit-cofounded-by-bill-clinton/|title=String of Felons Worked With Nonprofit Cofounded by Bill Clinton – Washington Free Beacon|date=16 November 2015}}</ref> In April 2014, he pled guilty to giving illegal campaign contributions to three federal candidates, including Clinton, between 2007 and 2011.<ref name="ForbesFall"/> He was fined $500,000 and sentenced to probation and community service.<ref name="NYTavoids">{{cite news|last1=Clifford|first1=Stephanie|title=Hotelier Avoids Prison for Violating Campaign Finance Laws|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/nyregion/hotelier-avoids-prison-for-violating-campaign-finance-laws.html|access-date=27 December 2017|work=The New York Times|date=18 December 2014}}</ref>

Hampshire Hotels & Resorts rebranded in 2015 to Dream Hotel Group.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ricca|first1=Stephanie|title=Dream Hotel Group sharpens focus on key brands|url=http://hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/29603/Dream-Hotel-Group-sharpens-focus-on-key-brands|publisher=Hotel News Now|date=4 February 2016}}</ref> Chatwal remained as the chairman of the board and a new CEO was appointed to the group<ref name="CommercialObserver"/><ref name="EconomicTimes">{{cite news|last1=Duttagupta|first1=Ishani|title=Sant Singh Chatwal announces expansion, rebranding plans for his hotel group|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/nris-in-news/sant-singh-chatwal-announces-expansion-rebranding-plans-for-his-hotel-group/articleshow/50174396.cms|access-date=23 February 2018|work=The Economic Times|date=14 December 2015}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In 2010, then Indian President [[Pratibha Patil]] awarded Chatwal the [[Padma Bhushan]], India's third-highest civilian honor.<ref name="ArabianBusiiness"/>

==See also==
* [[Indians in the New York City metropolitan region]]
* [[Sikh American]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatwal, Sant}}
[[Category:American Sikhs]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:American hoteliers]]

Sant Singh Chatwal - Revision history

>Rdp060707: Reverted edits by 99.234.245.194 (talk) to last revision by Monkbot: not providing a reliable source (WP:CITE, WP:RS)