Marriott International is ‘ready’ to open hotels in Cuba (Video)
The Marriott International chain, a giant in the hotel industry, is eager and ready to do business in Cuba, its president and chief executive officer writes this week.
In the travel industry website SKIFT, Arne M. Sorenson (in photo at top) puts down his impressions after his “first visit to Cuba, where I 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 says.
“What I found in the colorful, energetic milieu that is Havana was a people eager to engage with America. Everyone I met said unequivocally that they loved the American people and its culture.
“While proud of their past, Cubans are excited for the future,” Sorenson writes, and while there may be “anxiety in Cuba, including in its government, about reengaging with the U.S., […] there is a broad consensus that they would like to reengage with the U.S. — its businesses and its people — as soon as possible.
“At Marriott International, we are ready to get started right now,” the executive declares. “While U.S. law still does not allow Marriott to do business in Cuba, we learned that the steps taken by President Obama to reengage with Cuba have launched a bit of a global race involving businesses from other countries to leave as little as possible for American business when the restrictions are lifted altogether.
“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.'”
While acknowledging “the strong and historic voices in this country that have resolutely opposed reengaging with Cuba until such time as its form of government changes,” Sorenson says that “change in Cuba will come faster through engagement than through a continuation of the old rules.”
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.”
Marriott International Inc. owns more than 4,000 hotels in more than 80 countries. It operates 18 brands, including Ritz-Carlton, Delta Hotels and Bulgari Hotels.
Marriott’s principal competitor in Cuba will likely be Spain, which right now is negotiating to secure hotel and infrastructure deals in Cuba, according to Spanish Tourism Minister José Manuel Soria.
Quoted in Bloomberg Business last week, Soria said that Cuba is seeking to increase the number of hotel rooms and improve old infrastructure as part of its plan to modernize the country.
“The Cuban government told me of the objective for 30,000 new tourist beds,” Soria told Bloomberg. “Apart from tourism, they will need generating plants, new electricity grids, new infrastructure, roads and airports, and Spanish companies are well situated.”
Soria traveled to Cuba in early July at the head of a business delegation. For background in Progreso Weekly, click here and here.
