Bharat Patel, CHO, CHIA, is the Chairman of AAHOA. He has been an active member of the association since 2008. He served as an Ambassador for several years before his election to the Board of Directors as the Regional Director for Florida in 2015.
Bharat is a second-generation hotelier who learned the hotel business through hands-on experience at properties owned by his parents. Today, he is Partner at Gulf Coast Hospitality, a company based in Sarasota, Fla.
Bharat plays an active role in his community and previously served on the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Board of Directors, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Hotel and Restaurant Advisory Council, the Sarasota County Tourism Development Council, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Advisory Board.
He is a graduate of the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and resides in Sarasota with his wife, Manisha, and their two children.