Starwood signed a deal on Saturday to renovate and run three Cuban hotels, returning U.S. chains to the island more than 50 years after American hotels were taken over by Fidel Castro's socialist revolution.
All Cuban hotels are state-owned so the deal puts a major U.S. corporation directly into business with the Communist government under a special license that pushes the U.S. administration's legal dismantling of the trade embargo on Cuba further than ever before. In a once-unimaginable arrangement, a hotel owned by the tourism arm of the Cuban military will become a Sheraton Four Points.
The deal comes on the eve of President Barack Obama's historic visit to Cuba, which opens a new era between the former Cold War foes that has American travelers and businesses eagerly eyeing opportunities on the island nation 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of Florida.
Starwood's chief of Latin America operations, Jorge Giannattasio, said the company will invest millions to renovate and rebrand the Quinta Avenida, Santa Isabel and Inglaterra hotels, train and hire new staff and reopen the hotels by the end of the year. The Quinta Avenida is owned by Gaviota, a military-run tourism conglomerate. The Santa Isabel and Inglaterra, which are run by other state agencies, will be operated as part of Starwood's Luxury Collection brand.
It's unclear, however, how long Starwood can be called an American company. On Friday, Starwood called off a $12.2 billion buyout agreement with Marriott in favor of an offer from a group of investors led by the Chinese insurance company Anbang.
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Showing posts with label Gaviota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gaviota. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 March 2016
Sunday, 28 February 2016
CUBA: Finding An Empty Hotel Room In Cuba Is Difficult
Cuba's tourism boom continues at a record pace but is expected to cool off during 2016 with the government forecasting nearly 6 percent growth this year after a 17 percent increase in 2015.
Amid the international buzz surrounding the country's detente with the United States, Cuba received a record 3.5 million visitors in 2015, then set another record for any single month in January 2016, officials said.
The influx has pushed capacity to the limit and forced many tourists to scramble for hotel rooms, raising questions about how Cuba will absorb additional visitors when scheduled U.S. commercial airline service starts this year.
The Communist government is rushing to increase hotel capacity in the capital Havana and the beach resort Varadero, the two markets under the most strain, said Dalila Gonzalez, deputy director of marketing for the Tourism Ministry.
Cuba has forecast 200,000 additional visitors this year, or 3.7 million total, which would be less than a 6 percent increase, Gonzalez said.
The January record of 417,764 visitors was up 12.7 percent from a year earlier.
"One of our priorities for this year is the construction of four- and five-star hotels, especially five-star hotels," Gonzalez told Reuters. "All you have to do is walk the streets of Old Havana to see a lot of construction under way."
Projects remain months or years from completion, meaning the hotel crunch is likely to continue, especially during the high season from November to March.
The Manzana de Gomez, an ornate building being converted into a luxury hotel, is due for completion by early 2017. It is a joint venture between the venerable Swiss chain Kempinski and the Cuban state tourism company Gaviota.
Construction recently began on a Sofitel luxury hotel on a prime parcel fronting Havana's famous malecon, or boardwalk. Refurbishing of out-of-commission rooms in aging hotels is also under way.
Occupancy rates at four- and five-star hotels in Havana and Varadero surpassed 80 percent last year, Gonzalez said, a figure that includes the low season.
Because Americans are still banned from tourism under the U.S. trade embargo and only allowed on officially sanctioned visits, Americans concentrate in the capital rather than at forbidden beach resorts. That makes finding a hotel in Havana during the high season a challenge.
American visits last year rose 77 percent to 161,000, not counting hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans, and Gonzalez said a similar percentage increase was possible in 2016.
Amid the international buzz surrounding the country's detente with the United States, Cuba received a record 3.5 million visitors in 2015, then set another record for any single month in January 2016, officials said.
The influx has pushed capacity to the limit and forced many tourists to scramble for hotel rooms, raising questions about how Cuba will absorb additional visitors when scheduled U.S. commercial airline service starts this year.
The Communist government is rushing to increase hotel capacity in the capital Havana and the beach resort Varadero, the two markets under the most strain, said Dalila Gonzalez, deputy director of marketing for the Tourism Ministry.
Cuba has forecast 200,000 additional visitors this year, or 3.7 million total, which would be less than a 6 percent increase, Gonzalez said.
The January record of 417,764 visitors was up 12.7 percent from a year earlier.
"One of our priorities for this year is the construction of four- and five-star hotels, especially five-star hotels," Gonzalez told Reuters. "All you have to do is walk the streets of Old Havana to see a lot of construction under way."
Projects remain months or years from completion, meaning the hotel crunch is likely to continue, especially during the high season from November to March.
The Manzana de Gomez, an ornate building being converted into a luxury hotel, is due for completion by early 2017. It is a joint venture between the venerable Swiss chain Kempinski and the Cuban state tourism company Gaviota.
Construction recently began on a Sofitel luxury hotel on a prime parcel fronting Havana's famous malecon, or boardwalk. Refurbishing of out-of-commission rooms in aging hotels is also under way.
Occupancy rates at four- and five-star hotels in Havana and Varadero surpassed 80 percent last year, Gonzalez said, a figure that includes the low season.
Because Americans are still banned from tourism under the U.S. trade embargo and only allowed on officially sanctioned visits, Americans concentrate in the capital rather than at forbidden beach resorts. That makes finding a hotel in Havana during the high season a challenge.
American visits last year rose 77 percent to 161,000, not counting hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans, and Gonzalez said a similar percentage increase was possible in 2016.
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