20 Sunil Wadhwani, McAllen, Texas Entrepreneur Sunil Wadhwani Credits Family Values For Hospitality Industry Success

For Texas hotelier Sunil Wadhwani, McAllen, Texas entrepreneurship has been a long journey to sprawling professional success and hospitality industry quality has been a winding one. From the challenges of immigration, to the ever-shifting business world, Wadhwani has overcome much in his professional career. If asked, he’ll attribute his success to the values instilled in him by the family he holds so dear.

As the CEO of his own business, Satesh Limited, and the owner of several hotel locations across southern Texas, Sunil Wadhwani has labored to set a high bar for quality in the hospitality industry. With multiple award-winning locations and partnerships in his portfolio, Wadhwani has established himself as a staple in his local industry.

Origins and First Entrepreneurial Steps

Sunil Wadhwani’s origins are as humble as they are inspiring. Immigrating with his family to the United States from Asia at the age of six with only $100 to their name was the first challenge they faced. It was a challenge his family overcame, as they settled in the Dallas, Texas area and quickly established their own wholesale retail store in Brownsville, which would support them as Wadhwani went through schooling.

This family business would be where Wadhwani learned the basics of navigating customer demands and the realities of running a store. At the age of 25, Sunil Wadhwani left the family business to open his own retail location in McAllen, Texas. Specializing in electronics and branded watches, Wadhwani’s first independent business would give him first hand experience navigating the challenges of ownership and the ever-changing array of market trends.

While this first business would succeed for over a decade, it would not be the one that Sunil Wadhwani took to new heights of success. In time, the opportunity to move into the hospitality industry would arise, and Wadhwani would leap at the opportunity.

Hotels and Hospitality

In 2000, Sunil Wadhwani signed on to a partnership with La Quinta inn & Suites and opened a 65-room franchise inn in Pharr, Texas, kickstarting his career in Texas’ hospitality industry. Wadhwani applied the lessons learned from running his prior business, and the lessons learned watching the resilience and hard work of his family, to his new venture. His management style and leadership philosophy is the same now as it was then, with a very hands-on approach that ensures his high standards for quality are met and empowers his general managers to make correct operational decisions.

His success in the industry speaks for itself. In just over twenty years of business in south Texas’ hospitality sector, Sunil Wadhwani has expanded his portfolio to include nearly 1,000 rooms across five rental buildings, three townhouses, and a number of smaller developments. He’s partnered with multiple brands to do so, including not only La Quinta, but Motel 6 and Marriott Hotels. His locations have earned multiple “Franchise of the Year” awards from both La Quinta and Motel Six, and he’s working hard to continue that streak of proven quality.

His hard work led to a particularly significant milestone achievement in 2020, when Sunil Wadhwani signed a partnership with Marriott to develop and manage the TownePlace Suites San Antonio Northwest at The RIM shopping center. The cutting-edge extended-stay hotel boasts 109 suites featuring high-speed internet, full sized kitchens, and plenty of space, all within a short drive from a number of local attractions and hotspots. It’s the highest-profile building in Wadhwani’s portfolio, and is an example of the high bar for quality his management maintains.

Family Focus

For Sunil Wadhwani, nothing has been more influential on his life than his family. Growing up he took many cues from his father, who instilled in him a proud work ethic tempered by humility. This combination would be crucial as Wadhwani navigated the murky waters of changing business needs and market conditions—including the loss of his retail store to Amazon and the struggles facing the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ability to be flexible and adapt to changes in the business landscape was critical to his success, and it’s a trait Wadhwani attributes to his parents and his family upbringing.

“They are my heroes and all the inspiration I ever needed to excel,” Sunil Wadhwani says, “If I am successful it’s due to them, and I can only hope to continue that and do the same for my children, and their children.”

In the midst of all his professional successes, Wadhwani is most proud of his family. He’s been married to his high-school sweetheart for 35 years, and with her raised four children and three grandchildren, all of which are the highest priority in his life. To that end, he values a good work-life balance that enables him to spend regular, quality time with his family in order to give his children the same valuable foundation he got from his own parents.

A Growth Mindset

Hard work is the soul of entrepreneurship, but that doesn’t only apply to direct labor—it applies to education too. Constantly seeking and taking advantage of new opportunities to learn and grow should be a priority for any aspiring businessperson, and Sunil Wadhwani is no exception. His advice to anyone starting out in business is to accumulate as much experience as possible, and try to learn it from the bottom up in order to get a holistic understanding of the chosen industry.

In his own professional career, Sunil Wadhwani makes sure to keep on the cutting edge of industry trends and new technologies. He regularly attends industry conferences, business workshops, and meetings with his professional peers to learn about new strategies and developments. He offers his own wisdom and expertise to aspiring entrepreneurs as well, encouraging new business owners to put their pride aside and listen to their industry elders—it’s easier and less expensive than failing firsthand.

Eyes On The Future

Sunil Wadhwani’s future plans for the business are simple in concept: continued success and expansion. He aims to have 1,000 rooms in his portfolio for each of the major brands he’s partnered with, and to build up an excellent management team to take over the brunt of running them so he can relax more with his family. With such a portfolio already, it’s no doubt that those ambitions will one day be realized.