Charlotte-based Maya Hotels has added an 11th hotel to its portfolio with a $10.2 million purchase of the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Gastonia, about 15 miles west of Charlotte.
Maya Hotels now owns three hotels in Gaston County, two in Gastonia and one in Mount Holly. The family-owned company has three other hotels in Mooresville, two in Charlotte, two in Columbia and one in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
“We’re thrilled to acquire this hotel and continue our investment in Gaston County. I grew up in Gastonia, and our family has been operating hotels in this market for over three decades. We’ve grown in lockstep with the city, witnessing its growth and diversification from its textile roots to a dynamic economy,” says Maya Hotels CEO Krishna Deva, who joined the company started by her father and uncle in 2019 and became CEO last April.
The four-story, 130-bed hotel was built in 2001, and its sales price has decreased by more than $1 million over the two previous sales in 2018 ($11.26 million) and 2015 ($11.3 million), according to Gaston County records. It’s visible from Interstate 85 on Remount Road and has several other hotels and restaurants nearby, including a Texas Roadhouse, Cracker Barrel and Waffle House within a block.
Maya Hotels plans to start a “multi-million dollar” renovation on the hotel in the fourth quarter of 2025, says Maya Hotels President Parimal Thakor, a cousin of Deva, also assumed his leadership role last April. He joined the company in 2008.
“This renovation will elevate the hotel, from modernized public spaces to refreshed guest rooms, to reflect the high standards for which Maya Hotels is known,” says Thakor in a release. “We’re focused on maximizing the impact of this property, and we’re confident that the improvements will provide a welcoming and upgraded experience for both our guests and the local community.”
Maya will have a “hands-on management approach,” says Deva. Its investment and management will “strengthen our partnership with Marriott International and deliver on the Courtyard brand’s promise of quality service,” she says.
She says the hotel will benefit from its proximity to downtown Gastonia, CaroMont Regional Medical Center and the Charlotte market.
Maya Hotels was started by business partners Baldev Thakor and J.D. Deva. They were first friends in a rural town in India, before they arrived in the U.S. starting in the late 1980s. They married sisters. They first managed hotels before deciding to go out on their own. The first hotel the new company owned was a Ramada Inn in Cleveland County.
They opened the Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Mount Holly — although it has a Belmont mailing address — in 1998, which the company still operates. It is near the CaroMont Regional Medical Center — Belmont hospital that opened in January.
Other hotel brands owned by Maya include Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Candlewood Suites, Tru by Hilton, Aloft and Avid Hotel.