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Starwood, Marriott close to Cuba hotel deals
Friday, 14 Mar, 2016
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Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International have both been working on deals to open branded hotels in Cuba.
The two companies, which are soon to merge to create the world’s largest hotel company later this year, are busy arranging deals in principle ahead of President Barack Obama’s historic trip to Havana next week.
It is hoped Obama’s visit could signal more reforms to the five decade long trade embargo, allowing US hotel companies to operate legally in Cuba.
"We see many opportunities for the expansion of our brands into Cuba at this inflection point, and look forward to building long-term relationships and welcoming travelers into our hotels in this dynamic market," Starwood told the Wall Street Journal.
Marriott spokesman Thomas Marder said: "We are optimistic that we are going to get a green light soon from the US government to have hotels under the Marriott flag in Cuba."
Obama will be joined by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who recently called for a rule change to let US hotel companies compete for business fairly with the big European hotel groups.
"We’re starting to see all these investments by all these foreign hotels. We’d like it to be American hotels because that means American jobs," she said.
The WSJ reports Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson will also be traveling to Havana with the Presidential party.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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