Cuba Invites Domesticand Expat Investors to Run Hotels as Foreign Chains Scale Back

HAVANA — Cuba’s government announced that it will consider granting management of its hotels to Cuban investors residing on the island and those living abroad, following the withdrawal or scaling back of several foreign hotel operators, notably Spanish chain Melia.

Melia announced on May 26 that it will discontinue operations at 15 of the 34 hotels it manages in Cuba, citing the United States’ newly imposed sanctions and the continued enforcement of an energy embargo that has exacerbated the island’s economic crisis.

This decision follows comparable actions by other hotel chains, such as Canada’s Royalton and Spain’s Iberostar, which have also limited or suspended their Cuban operations, further weakening a tourism sector that has declined sharply since its 2018 peak.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel introduced the new management policy during a Friday interview with a Spanish journalist on the official presidential broadcast channel.

“We intend to increase the proportion of hotels operated under Cuban management rather than through shared arrangements with foreign partners,” Díaz-Canel said. “We are exploring new business models and welcome Cuban nationals who wish to invest in and manage hotels.”

He added that these opportunities have also been extended to Cubans living abroad.

Melia’s decision followed weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that broadened sanctions against Cuba, primarily targeting Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a conglomerate owned by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, which the administration cited as a threat to U.S. national security.

The order also freezes assets of additional foreign firms, confiscates accounts held in the United States, and bars shareholders, investors and employees from traveling, effectively cutting off their participation in the U.S. financial system.

GAESA, a Cuban conglomerate founded in the 1990s, operates a diverse portfolio that includes car rentals, retail stores and transportation services. It partners with Melia in hotel management through its subsidiary Gaviota.

Melia had been one of Cuba’s key partners in the tourism industry, managing approximately 14,000 rooms before its partial withdrawal.

Tourism in Cuba, which peaked at 4.3 million visitors in 2019, recorded a 48 percent decline in arrivals during the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in the previous year, according to government statistics.

Only 298,000 tourists visited Cuba in January, February and March, compared with 573,300 international arrivals during the same period the previous year, according to government statistics.

In the interview, Díaz-Canel described it as “cynical” for Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to portray Cuba’s government as ineffective while simultaneously tightening an already severe embargo.

Although U.S. and Cuban officials engaged in talks earlier this year, tensions have escalated. In late May, former President Raúl Castro was indicted in the United States for allegedly overseeing the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft that were operated by Miami‑based exiles in Cuban waters.

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