Indian tribes in hotel venture
Four native American tribes have formed a partnership to build a 222-bedroom hotel in Washington DC. The move is unusual for Indian tribes, who rarely unite.
But the four tribes, collectively called the Four Fires partnership, have decided that to secure their financial future they need to club together and invest in the hotel business. "It is a different venture for them - it is usually against the Indian grain to unite, they usually operate individually," said a spokeswoman for Four Fires.
The Forest County Pota-watomi Community, the Oneida Tribe of Indians, the San Manual Band of Mission Indians and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians all have individual gambling operations on their reservations and have put together a $43m (£28m) investment programme with property developer Donohoe Companies to build the 14-storey hotel.
The hotel is to be a Residence Inn, a Marriott brand. Although it will be owned by Four Fires, it will be managed by Hospitality Partners, a hotel management firm that runs 14 hotels in the USA, including eight in Washington DC.
