I've seen scores of finance packages on Indian owned hotels and I've never seen - or heard of - an SBA loan on any of them. I have seen SBA loans on Indian owned franchise fast food places but those I could count on one hand and they were to Indians born here and not immigrants.
Indian finance is intricate. A young man is expected to work in the business until he has mastered all facets from the front desk to cleaning toilets. He is expected to save every spare penny. When he is ready, his family will all chip in for a down payment on a small motel. Those little loans are inviolable. They are personal, unsecured loans but God help anyone who defaults. They live frugally and save their money until they can move up to a bigger, better property. From there it is luck, ambition and ability.
The whole system is as American as apple pie.
Excellent post. Thanks for taking time to convey your experience.
http://cofcc.org/2012/04/how-asian-immigrants-get-preferential-treatment-when-starting-a-business/
check out this Mr Patel!!! and read between the lines. You know the Patel (caste?) is heavy into motels in America
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sanjay-patel/23/959/b99
http://nreionline.com/finance/hotel-borrowers-lifted-sba-bootstraps/
http://isteve.blogspot.com/2010/03/modest-proposal.html