Marriott Starwood to Build First Hotel in Cuba

An unconfirmed report handed over to Caribbean News Digital newsroom early this morning indicates that one of America’s hotel giants, Marriott Starwood, is just about to close a deal that would authorize the company to build its first hotel ever in Cuba.

A source close to the development told CND that the Office of Foreign Asset Control attached to the U.S. Treasury Department recently granted the first license to Marriott Starwood to build its first-ever hotel in the city of Havana, in a vacant lot nestled on 5th Avenue in the exclusive neighborhood of Miramar.

Caribbean News Digital tried to reach out to Gina Carriazo Hickey, Director of Public Relations & Communication for the Latin American Region at Marriott Starwood, but she didn’t reply to our email inquiry.

The source, that asked to remain anonymous, said the announcement could be included in the new measures the White House is set to announce on March 17 in an effort to further ease travel restrictions on U.S. citizens willing to make trips to Cuba.

If the report is eventually confirmed, this will make a major sea change in U.S-Cuba policy on the eve of President Barack Obama’s historic visit to the island nation, the first by an American sitting president since Calvin Coolidge traveled to Cuba back in 1928.

In July last year, Marriott International’s front office said it was eager and ready to do business in Cuba.

The company’s president and CEO Arne M. Sorenson put down his impressions after his “first visit to Cuba, where he spent several days talking with government officials, business and cultural leaders, and ordinary citizens.

“Like many in the U.S. today, I was intrigued with Cuba and eager to experience it firsthand. I was not disappointed,” he said.

“At Marriott International, we are ready to get started right now,” the executive declared. “Shouldn’t U.S. companies be permitted to at least compete for all this new travel business in Cuba?” Sorenson asks. “While undeniably biased, I think the answer to this question must be ‘yes.’”

Besides, “American citizens should be free to travel to Cuba, as they are to every other country in the world, and draw their own conclusions about this fascinating culture. Why prohibit people from getting to know each other? We are much more likely to get along if there is a vibrant relationship between our people.”

Quite coincidentally, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Tuesday published an open letter to Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew urging the federal government to amend regulations to legally allow for U.S. hotel operators to build hotels in Cuba.