Starwood Hotels will be the first American firm to manage hotels in Cuba in more than half a century, after the firm picked up two luxury hotel contracts on the eve of President Obama’s visit to the island nation.
The Connecticut-based firm will refurbish and manage the Hotel Inglaterra in Old Havana and the 186-room Hotel Quinta Avenida in the upscale Miramar district.
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This move represents the closest tie so far between an American company and the Cuban government—the hotels are both owned by Cuban state enterprises and one is owned by a military conglomerate—since the diplomatic thaw in 2014, the New York Times reports.
And Jorge Giannattasio—Starwood’s senior VP and head of the company’s Latin American operations—expects the thaw to continue. “There are many opportunities for us and other American companies,” he says. “This is just the beginning.”
The move could represent a Chinese foray into the Caribbean paradise as well, if China's Anbang Insurance goes through with its proposed $13.2B buyout of Starwood Hotels, proposed just this month. [NYT]
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