CHLA Lodging News July/August 2019

4 CALIFORNIA LODGING NEWS www.calodging.com Sunil “Sunny” Khatri HOTELIER PROFILE Owner, Comfort Inn Fairfield I have been in the hotel industry for over 20 years. I got into the industry because of my grandfather and dad. My family has owned and managed hotels and motels in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1973. Upon my graduation of San Jose State University with a BS in Management, I worked for a company as an office manager. I realized this wasn’t for me and decided I needed to get into the hotel industry. I was given an opportunity by my parents to manage an economy brand franchisee hotel—my first experience as an onsite operator, where I gained a lot of knowledge of the hospitality industry. After that, we were able to purchase our own economy brand franchised hotel in Arizona. After some time, an opportunity surfaced in California, where I had the chance to work with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. It was my dream to have a midscale, branded hotel. This was the first and, now, we have grown to a couple of properties.