The Tribe
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is an American aboriginal tribe that is fully acknowledged by the federal government as an independent political region. The tribe neighbors the city of Highland in California. The San Manuel Tribe is part of the many tribes making up the Serrano Indians. The Serrano are indigenous inhabitants of the San Bernardino highlands, valley, mountains, passes, and high deserts in San Bernardino County. They share a culture of similar language and practices. The region, recognized in federal terms as the San Manuel reservation has existed since 1891 ( San Manuel Tribal Government , n.d.) , and has been undertaking its political and economic operations as sovereign self-government. The region community was named after a great tribal leader called Santos Manuel, who championed the talks with the federal government that led to the creation of a reservation of the 900 acres of mountainous land. The reservation has grown over time, driven by the policy of operating a supportable tribal control that forges independence, runs self-reliance programs, and supports culturally-sensitive exploitation of resources to serve the tribal community. With time, the community has progressed to attain a well-established economic and social unit. Among the most rewarding economic activity in the area is gaming, which but there are other enterprises within the region to supplement economic substance.
The Business
San Manuel Tribe seeks to capitalize in the Hotel/Gaming industry, which covers both the hospitality market and resort or gaming businesses. The industry entails hotel enterprises that own upscale and mid-level property, which can be classified as luxury, full-service, timeshare, and limited service. The gross revenue or profitability in the sector comes from a wide range of services, including room bookings, product sales, rents from retail spaces, convention and meeting facility charges, gaming charges, and dining charges.
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The strength of the hotel and gambling business can be measured by occupancy, average daily rates, and revenue from every available amenity. The room rates and amenities charges are therefore adjusted depending on the booking and occupancy levels. Liberalization of the gambling policies among the native tribes has allowed the San Bernardino region to be a market favorite for hotel and/ or gambling services. Since the San Manuel area has tribal sovereignty, the state of California has limited ability to forbid casino services there. With billions of dollars spent on luxury hotels and casinos annually, this business venture is undoubtedly an economic growth sector.
The Product
The San Manuel Tribe owns the San Manuel Casino, which is a leader in casino operations in the greater San Bernardino County. The 465 000 square feet property is situated 60 minutes from downtown Los Angeles and also neighbors the LA-Ontario International Airport ( San Manuel Tribal Government , n.d.) . The entertainment facility has been a top entertainment destination in the region, with over a million guests coming in every year to enjoy thousands of gambling slots, including live poker, Vegas-style blackjack, and other incredible forms of gaming entertainment. Visitors to San Manuel have always cited exciting and memorable experiences, which is the underlying motivation for the current move by the owners to grow in standards by providing a world-class experience to everyone who visits the casino.
San Manuel Casino has therefore proposed to expand the facility to cover approximately 795 000 square feet of modern entertainment and hospitality space ( San Manuel Tribal Government , n.d.) . The project would cost an estimated $550 million from its ground-breaking in the year 2018 to its anticipated completion in 2021 ( San Manuel Tribal Government , n.d.) . All the proposed developments in the expansion of the facility should occur within the area occupied by the current casino- on the existing San Manuel Indian Reservation.
After completion, the project will contribute to high volumes of socio-economic developments in the area, with the promise to leverage the community’s account of modernization and progress in the following ways: (a) Up-to-date extravagance- the visitors will have the added option of extending their stays at the facility first onsite luxury hotel; (b) Higher entertainment- the amenity seeks to rival top entertainment spots like Las Vegas. San Manuel Casino's expanded venue for entertainment will, therefore, provide the visitors with a premier experience; (c) Additional amenities- the expansion will see an upgrade to the existing dining options. Specifically, the new retail spaces, dining venues, and spa would add to its award-winning amenities; (d) economic development- San Manuel Band of Mission Indians already boasts of being among the ten most recognized private employers in the County of San Bernardino. As of 2018, the region supported over 4,000 employees and generated over $ 1 billion in yearly economic productivity ( San Manuel Tribal Government , n.d.) . Expanding the San Manuel Casino will add even more employment opportunities and more room for economic activity in the region.
Notable details of the expansion include:
Construction of a 15-story tower
A -room hotel of a resort-style quality
A larger casino space fitted with luxurious and state-of-art amenities
A performance venue with approximately 400 seats
Additional areas for meeting and events
New modern facilities in the class of a spa, ultra-modern restaurants, and several retail shops
An expanded parking structure that can take up to 2200 vehicles. It includes the parking garage, surface parking lots as well as pedestrian bridges.
Utility infrastructure for power supply.
The construction of the project is a reflection of San Manuel Tribe’s intention to excel at high-quality construction projects, which is of utmost importance in driving economic stimulation in the community. The expansion project is estimated to generate more than $200 million in economic growth over the subsequent two years after the ground-breaking through new construction and architectural partnerships, project vendor relationships, and job growths ( San Manuel Tribal Government , n.d.) . The community eyes to deliver up to 1,400 workers at the peak of the construction.
Business Ownership
San Manual Casino was started by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. This is a tribe of the Serrano people who ascribe to the ancestry of the native Indians of the San Bernardino region. This tribe is named after their leader, Santos Manuel, who led the remnants of the 1866-1867 San Bernardino massacre, even taking charge of them in the Indian reservation since 1891 until his death in 1919.
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians got into serious gambling business in 1986, which was marked by the construction of a 50-000 square feet bingo hall. The bingo parlor has undergone several upgrades to the modern day San Manuel Hotel and Casino. The Business is now registered under the ownership of San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.
Value to the Community
The most significant contribution of San Manuel Casino to the community is in the creation of employment and steering of economic resurgence. Today, the casino offers employment opportunities for about 5,000 employees. These employees receive competitive pays, with comprehensive benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, matching 401k, and add-on bonuses based on performance ( San Manuel Tribal Government , n.d.) . Cumulatively, these factors have led to improved living standards of the residents of the county.
In order, to understand the significance of the San Manuel Hotel and Casino expansion to the economy of the inland empire, it is appropriate to review the economic performance of the region over the just-completed decade. In 2012, San Bernardino city became bankrupt following the great economic recession of 2009. The city has struggled to recover from the bankruptcy, with more input coming from San Manuel Band of Mission Islands- the owners of the expansion project. By the year 2016, San Manuel had delivered $750 million to San Bernardino to meet its economic rebuild. That very year, San Manuel was the largest employee in the region, with 4000 workers, mostly from San Bernardino County. 27% of these workers come from Bernardino city while the remaining 77% came from the rest of San Bernardino County ( San Manuel Tribal Government , n.d.) . These figures indicate how San Manuel is determined to raise the economic performance of the inland empire. San Manuel has also offered philanthropic donations to residents and non-profit organizations in the aboriginal territory to make the community prosperous. Such as Northern Arizona University, where San Manuel has contributed thousands of dollars to the school. Also, San Manual have given contributions to the neighboring community, and with the hotel and casino now expanding, the same contributions are expected to continue on an even larger scale.
Viability
From a personal perspective, the viability of the hotel and gaming industry is dependent on the economic cycle and consumer spending culture. I have arrived at such a conclusion considering that the operating earnings in this industry often fluctuate depending on the economic time- they tend to shift widely between good economic times and bad economic times. During a severe economic downtime, there is a huge and rapid drop in the volume measures of success, such as low occupancy and negligible revenue per available room. At such times, the hotel will be forced to sacrifice occupancy to maintain room rates and protect the net profits. When the periods become even more severe, the industry will have to cut room rates. Which makes it difficult for hotels to raise room rates again when business activities recover. A similar effect of recession is felt in the gaming resort sector, where tighter consumer budgets negatively affect the frequency of gambling, leisure activities, conventions, and luxury. I feel such tough economic times would force San Manuel Hotel and Casino to implement steps that free up money, including laying off of workers, reducing capital spending, and selling non-core assets.
However, during an upswing of economic activities, the company will benefit from increased leisure activities and corporate event spending by consumers and companies. The company will experience strengthened profits and improved product-service developments. It would require a risk-tolerant investor to take a look into the industry. Therefore, in light of these factors, and considering the steadiness in the performance of the US economy over the last decade, the decision by San Manuel Tribe to focus on the hotel and gaming is economically viable and promises a lot in return.
Conclusion
San Manuel Hotel and Casino, which was created in 1986 by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, has attracted a solid reputation as a premier and renowned one-stop entertainment destination in Sothern California. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, who own and manage the casino, owe their success story to their ancestral leader called Santos Manuel. The tribe is actually named after the leader. The tribe took on serious gambling in the late 1980’s, which inspired the creation of the bingo. The bingo has undergone several faces of improvement to the modern day San Manuel Hotel and Casino. The latest upscale to the business will entail the construction of a 450 room capacity which is forecasted to attract over 10 million guests on a yearly basis and provide exceptional customer experience in all aspects of entertainment and hotel services. The business is an anchor to the economy of the local community and has been monumental in raising the living standards of the people in San Bernardino County. San Manuel Hotel and Casino also provides funding to the tribal government services, infrastructure development projects, and the future of the local tribe.
References
San Manuel Tribal Government . (n.d.). https://www.sanmanuel-nsn.gov/
