Starwood in historic Cuba hotel deal
Starwood Hotels and Resorts has signed three hotel deals in Havana, making it the first US hotel group to enter the Cuban market in nearly 60 years.
The Hotel Inglaterra in Havana will join The Luxury Collection and Hotel Quinta Avenida will become a Four Points by Sheraton.
Both hotels will undergo a renovation before joining the brands later in 2016.
Starwood has also signed a letter of intent to convert the Hotel Santa Isabel into a member of The Luxury Collection.
The news comes as Barack Obama became the first US president to visit the island for nearly 90 years.
Last month, the US and Cuba signed an agreement which will allow US airlines to operate up to 110 daily roundtrip flights.
American, Delta and United have all submitted their applications.
"There is no question the entire US hospitality industry has watched Cuba with great interest, and we are thrilled to lead the charge and bring our sophisticated, high-end brands into the market at this inflection point," said Thomas B. Mangas, Starwood’s CEO.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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