The Government of Cuba is going to rent some of the island hotels to the international chains, which until now only managed them, starting with the Spanish Iberostar, as confirmed EFE with sources familiar with those negotiations.
This is a paradigm shift in a sector that until now had been tightly controlled by the Cuban State through the Ministry of Tourism and different companies of the GAESA business consortium, in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).
The first hotel on the island to apply this new formula is the Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul, located in Varadero. The agreement has already been signed and will begin to apply on January 1, 2026.
The Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, announced at this year’s FITCuba sector fair that, among the measures that the Executive was studying to boost the sector, which is going through low hours, was the leasing of tourist facilities owned by the State.
These agreements, as he learned EFErepresent a qualitative leap with respect to the first specific announcement in this regard: the two letters of intent signed with Chinese counterparts “for the negotiation of a lease contract for the Copacabana Hotel” in Havana, as reported at the end of April by the official newspaper Granma.
The movement, consulted sources pointed out, has a double objective. On the one hand, it seeks to increase the income of the country, which is mired in a serious crisis and urgently needs foreign currency to import basics such as food and fuel.
On the other hand, it wants to provide the large hotel chains that operate on the island with greater autonomy and flexibility to improve service – one of the main obstacles in the sector today – and, consequently, the image of these establishments, which has suffered in recent years with the crisis that the country is suffering.
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As you have been able to know EFEthe new system aims to begin with pilot experiences in establishments of different large international hotel chains.
The Cuban authorities are negotiating the conditions of these agreements separately with each chain and apparently there are no common scales to set the rent or fixed fees. Neither party has wanted to reveal the amounts agreed for the rental.
More tourists, more foreign exchange
With this decision, the Cuban Government seeks to increase its foreign currency income in two ways.
Directly, with what you earn for renting the establishments to the hotel chains. Indirectly, also because this measure seeks to be a stimulus for a key sector in economic terms for the country.
It is also one of its three main sources of foreign currency—along with professional services and remittances—which Cuba needs because it imports 80% of what it consumes. In this way, it is about revitalizing the visitor numbers, which are currently at the worst records so far this century, without counting 2020 and 2021, due to the covid-19 restrictions.
So far this year, the numbers of international tourists have fallen compared to 2024, when these were already the lowest in 17 years. Sector sources expect to conclude the year at around 1.8 million people, compared to 2.2 in 2024 and 4.7 million, the island’s historical maximum reached in 2018.
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Hotels also perceive the measure as beneficial, as they have explained to EFE people involved in negotiations with the Cuban Government.
Firstly, because it allows them for the first time to have “totally autonomous” management. Until now, although they managed the hotels owned by GAESA, they had to follow multiple official guidelines and have state approval for many issues, from investments to menus, including salaries.
Regarding this last point, the new management model will allow hotel chains for the first time to set the salaries they pay to their employees, instead of having to pay the salaries set by the State, which are very low and in Cuban pesos.
The plan contemplates, after these pilot tests, expanding the management change process in the country’s hotels, although no deadlines have been set.
Compared to the recovery experienced by Cancún (Mexico) and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), tourism in Cuba has not managed to recover since the pandemic due to both endogenous (economic and energy crisis, monetary reform) and exogenous (US sanctions) causes.
