HAVANA — The Cuban government has announced it is open to offering hotel management contracts to Cuban residents and citizens living abroad. President Miguel Díaz-Canel made the announcement in an interview.
This policy change follows the withdrawal or limitation of operations by several international hotel companies in Cuba. Spanish hotel chain Meliá announced on May 26 that it would cease operations at 15 of the 34 hotels it managed in the country. Canadian-owned Royalton and Iberostar have also limited or suspended their operations.
The U.S. government maintains an energy embargo against Cuba and expanded sanctions against the country. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. This executive order freezes assets, seizes accounts, and prohibits travel for shareholders, investors, and employees of sanctioned entities. GAESA partners with Meliá in hotel management through its subsidiary, Gaviota. Before its partial withdrawal, Meliá operated approximately 14,000 hotel rooms in Cuba.
The Cuban government attributes ongoing blackouts, water shortages, supply issues, and healthcare deficiencies to the U.S. economic blockade. Government records show 298,000 international tourists visited Cuba between January and March 2026, a 48 percent decrease from the 573,300 visitors during the same months in 2025.
"There will be hotels that we will have to operate more with Cuban management than with shared management with foreign entities," Díaz-Canel said. "We are proposing different business models and are open to Cubans who want to invest and manage hotels," he said. U.S. and Cuban officials held diplomatic talks earlier in 2026.
No independent assessment was available for this report.