Post by blackcrowheart on Dec 5, 2005 12:59:28 GMT -5
Tribes build posh resorts
By Stephanie Paterik, The Arizona Republic
PHOENIX — The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation has opened a 247-room Radisson Resort in hopes of transforming its casino into a true destination.
Laura Medina, left, of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Ariz., helps her roommate, Idamae Clark, 18, fill out an application at the tribe's job fair.
Yoko Furukawa, Arizona Republic
It is the latest example of Arizona tribes expanding on their lucrative casino properties with resorts, amusement parks and golf courses. A voter-approved initiative prevents tribes near metro Phoenix from building more casinos, so they are finding ways to grow what they already have.
The Radisson, situated beside the casino just east of Fountain Hills, is expected to lure large groups that want a taste of the Wild West and something fun to do between meetings. The budget resort will charge $175 to $200 for rooms during the high season, January through April, and in the low $100s during the summer.
The tribe won't say how much the hotel cost to build, but it was designed with the latest trends in mind.
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Suites include flat-screen TVs and Sleep Number beds, conference rooms offer Internet-based video conferencing and the staff can forward calls to guests' cellphones. Instead of towels, there are extra large "bath sheets." Crisp white duvet covers stand in for comforters.
Fort McDowell's casino already is flanked by a golf course, RV park and Fort McDowell Adventures, an outdoor party venue where people can have cookouts and go river rafting or horseback riding.
The Gila River Indian Community is taking a similar approach at its Wild Horse Pass casino south of Phoenix. It built the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa three years ago, and Rawhide Wild West Town will re-open there next month after moving from Scottsdale.
"I think it's just a perfect time," said Sheila Morago, executive director of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association. "The casinos are doing well. They are stable. ... There are huge opportunities with things like hotels and golf courses."
The hotel is expected to bring in money for the 938-member Yavapai community, both through bookings and the business it will feed to the casino. It also is creating 300 jobs, and about 30% are expected to go to tribe members.
Raphael Bear, president of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, said the resort means two things for his community.
"Self-determination and self-sufficiency," he said. "There's a lot in those two words."
Community members support economic development on the reservation and, if anything, would like to see more, Bear said. Profits from the casino and surrounding businesses go to the community.
"I think a lot of tribes are doing similar things," he said. "We're not like a large city with a sales tax. Here, you don't have that, but we have a casino."
Each tribe has its own guidelines about hiring. If all things are equal between a candidate who is a member and one who is not, the member will typically get the job, Morago said. Fort McDowell has hosted two job fairs in the run-up to opening day and invited anyone to apply.
The resort has spent tens of thousands of dollars to market itself to conference planners, and has booked millions of dollars' worth of convention business already. Tristar Hotel Management of Phoenix is managing the property.
General Manager Greg Carrish said the resort offers what Scottsdale properties used to: a natural Southwest setting, tucked away from crowds and traffic. The fact that a tribe owns it gives it a competitive edge.
"Native American culture is a big tourism generator for hotels, both nationally and worldwide," he said.
The Radisson incorporates the Yavapai tradition of basket weaving. An outdoor fire pit shaped like a basket marks the entryway. The building's windows are arranged in a way that makes them appear to be woven, and that pattern is repeated inside. Drawings by tribal children were turned into glass mosaics to decorate the restaurant.
Carrish managed a Radisson in Scottsdale in the 1990s and most recently worked at Hyatt Main Street Station in Breckenridge, Colo. The opportunity to open a new hotel lured him back to Arizona.
He said working for the tribe is a change from working for a corporation. He meets with managers of other businesses on the reservation to talk about ways they can boost each other's revenues.
"If you're working at a hotel in Scottsdale, you don't care about the gas station down the street," he said. "Here, you do."
By Stephanie Paterik, The Arizona Republic
PHOENIX — The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation has opened a 247-room Radisson Resort in hopes of transforming its casino into a true destination.
Laura Medina, left, of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Ariz., helps her roommate, Idamae Clark, 18, fill out an application at the tribe's job fair.
Yoko Furukawa, Arizona Republic
It is the latest example of Arizona tribes expanding on their lucrative casino properties with resorts, amusement parks and golf courses. A voter-approved initiative prevents tribes near metro Phoenix from building more casinos, so they are finding ways to grow what they already have.
The Radisson, situated beside the casino just east of Fountain Hills, is expected to lure large groups that want a taste of the Wild West and something fun to do between meetings. The budget resort will charge $175 to $200 for rooms during the high season, January through April, and in the low $100s during the summer.
The tribe won't say how much the hotel cost to build, but it was designed with the latest trends in mind.
NEED MORE?
Get the latest hotel news in our Hotels section.
Suites include flat-screen TVs and Sleep Number beds, conference rooms offer Internet-based video conferencing and the staff can forward calls to guests' cellphones. Instead of towels, there are extra large "bath sheets." Crisp white duvet covers stand in for comforters.
Fort McDowell's casino already is flanked by a golf course, RV park and Fort McDowell Adventures, an outdoor party venue where people can have cookouts and go river rafting or horseback riding.
The Gila River Indian Community is taking a similar approach at its Wild Horse Pass casino south of Phoenix. It built the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa three years ago, and Rawhide Wild West Town will re-open there next month after moving from Scottsdale.
"I think it's just a perfect time," said Sheila Morago, executive director of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association. "The casinos are doing well. They are stable. ... There are huge opportunities with things like hotels and golf courses."
The hotel is expected to bring in money for the 938-member Yavapai community, both through bookings and the business it will feed to the casino. It also is creating 300 jobs, and about 30% are expected to go to tribe members.
Raphael Bear, president of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, said the resort means two things for his community.
"Self-determination and self-sufficiency," he said. "There's a lot in those two words."
Community members support economic development on the reservation and, if anything, would like to see more, Bear said. Profits from the casino and surrounding businesses go to the community.
"I think a lot of tribes are doing similar things," he said. "We're not like a large city with a sales tax. Here, you don't have that, but we have a casino."
Each tribe has its own guidelines about hiring. If all things are equal between a candidate who is a member and one who is not, the member will typically get the job, Morago said. Fort McDowell has hosted two job fairs in the run-up to opening day and invited anyone to apply.
The resort has spent tens of thousands of dollars to market itself to conference planners, and has booked millions of dollars' worth of convention business already. Tristar Hotel Management of Phoenix is managing the property.
General Manager Greg Carrish said the resort offers what Scottsdale properties used to: a natural Southwest setting, tucked away from crowds and traffic. The fact that a tribe owns it gives it a competitive edge.
"Native American culture is a big tourism generator for hotels, both nationally and worldwide," he said.
The Radisson incorporates the Yavapai tradition of basket weaving. An outdoor fire pit shaped like a basket marks the entryway. The building's windows are arranged in a way that makes them appear to be woven, and that pattern is repeated inside. Drawings by tribal children were turned into glass mosaics to decorate the restaurant.
Carrish managed a Radisson in Scottsdale in the 1990s and most recently worked at Hyatt Main Street Station in Breckenridge, Colo. The opportunity to open a new hotel lured him back to Arizona.
He said working for the tribe is a change from working for a corporation. He meets with managers of other businesses on the reservation to talk about ways they can boost each other's revenues.
"If you're working at a hotel in Scottsdale, you don't care about the gas station down the street," he said. "Here, you do."