Spanish Hotel Chain in Cuba Better Prepared to Face Crisis

The Cuban Division of Spanish hotel chain Sol Melia announced Thursday that after getting satisfactory economic results last year, it was ready to ease the impact of world economic downturn.

Sven Boen, communications director for Sol Melia in Cuba, said that Sol Melia hotels in Cuba grew by 7 percent on a year-to-year basis in 2008, and this upward trend continues.

He said that those hotels were preparing to face the drop in foreign currencies and the negative effects of A/H1N1 flu.

According to Boen, of the 24 Sol Melia hotels in Cuba, three are being expanded, two of them in Varadero and the third in Santa Maria.

He said that Melia Santiago hotel in Santiago de Cuba was recently fixed and in better conditions to host guests from around the world, in addition to holding international events.

Sol Melia in Cuba also runs hotels in Varadero (Matanzas), Havana, Holguin, Juventud Island, Ciego de Avila and Villa Clara.

Sol Melia began its operations in Cuba in 1999 with Sol Palmeras hotel in Varadero beach. It now provides more than 10,200 rooms in its Sol Melia, Melia, Paradisus and Tryp hotels.