What does the departure of the main hotel multinationals that operated in the country mean for Cuba?

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The partial exit of the main foreign hotel chains brings a new setback for Cuba, which is going through one of the worst crises in its recent history.
The Spanish chain Meliá announced on Wednesday (3/6) the immediate end of operations at 15 of its 34 hotels, specifically those linked to the Gaviota tourist chain, controlled by the Cuban military conglomerate Gaesa.
Shortly before, Iberostar resigned to 12 of its 16 establishments operated on the island. Canadian Blue Diamond announced the abandonment of all its operations in the country, "with immediate effect".
The largest private hotel group in Southeast Asia, Archipelago International, was added to them. The company removed its Aston brand from several hotels in Cuba, including some of the most modern and luxurious in the capital, Havana.
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The departure of these companies occurred after a new tightening by the government of American President Donald Trump on the island's economy.
Trump signed, on May 1, an executive order determining sanctions against people and companies that maintain economic ties with Gaesa. The measure served as an ultimatum for foreign companies to end their operations with the Cuban holding before June 5th.
Without attributing the exit exclusively to the United States, the hotel chains pointed to a combination of factors, which include legal fears, the deterioration of operating conditions and the energy crisis faced by the Caribbean island. the very survival of the Cuban economy.
The modern hotels from the Iberostar and Meliá chains stand out among Havana's old buildings.
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How the Cuban tourist model works
Unlike what happens in many other tourist destinations, hotels in Cuba tend to be owned by state-owned companies, such as Gaviota.
"The hotels continue to belong to Gaesa, but their management is granted by contract to a foreign company", explains the economist Pavel Vidal to BBC News Mundo (the BBC's Spanish-language service).
Foreign networks provide the brand, reservation systems, international promotion, agreements with tour operators and much of the management and quality standards that, until recently, attracted millions of visitors to Cuba from Europe, Canada and other regions. the Cuban State and foreign companies to develop, manage and operate tourist facilities.
A leasing model has also recently been proposed, which allows a foreign company to rent the facility, having greater autonomy in operation.
The departure of foreign chains does not mean that the hotels will automatically be closed, as they can continue to be operated by Cuban state companies.
In fact, the question is not only who will manage the establishments, but who will be able to receive guests.
In a country with around 80 thousand rooms in hotels that were largely managed by foreign operators, the loss of the commercial networks provided by Meliá, Iberostar, Blue Diamond and Archipelago could represent a very strong blow.
Hotels like the Grand Aston are operated by Gaviota, a company owned by the Cuban conglomerate Gaesa.
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Blow to an almost bankrupt sector
The exit of the main foreign hotel chains comes amid a total collapse of the Cuba's tourist sector. The country has never managed to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2020, when it used to receive between 4 and 5 million visitors per year.
Cuba received just 328,608 international tourists between January and April 2026. This number represents 55.8% less than the same period of the previous year, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information of Cuba (Onei, by its acronym in Spanish).
The reduction accelerated mainly from February onwards, with the worsening of the energy and supply crisis experienced by the island, with daily blackouts lasting several hours and extreme fuel shortages.
All of this harmed fundamental markets, such as Canada and Spain, responsible for large flows of tourists. A large part of air routes to Cuba have been suspended due to the difficulties faced by airlines in refueling their planes at the island's airports.
Prolonged blackouts, energy shortages and the deterioration of basic services have also damaged the country's attractiveness. In recent times, Cuba offered empty beaches, semi-deserted hotels and few leisure options.
In this context, economists consulted by the BBC consider that the departure of hotel chains Meliá, Iberostar, Blue Diamond and others represents another blow to a sector that was already seriously weakened.
"The few visitors who were still able to go will now think twice", explains Ricardo Torres.
"The foreign company always offered a certain guarantee of quality to the operation of a hotel. Now, this guarantee has disappeared."
In the midst of the tourist collapse, the few hotel customers may be, in large part, residents of Cuba (whether they are Cubans with income from abroad or foreign diplomats) or Cuban-American citizens visiting their families.
These often stay in private residences, but they also tend to spend holidays with their relatives in hotels on the beaches of Varadero or on one of the nearby islands.
The military conglomerate Gaesa was considered a separate power within the government led by the government. by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
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The effects on the economy
The new blow imposed on Cuban tourism reveals the country's increasing difficulty in maintaining links with investors, suppliers and foreign companies, in view of the deepening of American sanctions. The United States applies a trade embargo to the island that has lasted more than six decades.
On Thursday (3/6), Cuban authorities announced the suspension of Visa and Mastercard electronic payments from June 6th, due to sanctions imposed by Washington.
Most of the hotel chains that left Cuba operated establishments linked to Gaviota, the tourist arm of the military conglomerate Gaesa, which dominates vast sectors of the Cuban economy.
The new measures taken by Washington seek precisely to isolate the business group, forcing foreign companies to break off relations with it or subject themselves to sanctions.
"This is leading not only hotel chains, but practically everything that remained of foreign investment in Cuba, to withdraw, including suppliers, banks and shipping companies", says Torres.
The economist goes further and argues that the sanctions do not only seek to put pressure on the Cuban government, but also to withdraw Spanish and Canadian companies, in the face of a possible regime change or profound transformation of the system.
"The path is being opened, leaving the economy available so that, during negotiations with the United States, American capital can enter", he says.
Authorities from Washington and Havana have met in recent weeks to discuss issues relating to the future of the island, but it is not known specifically what the content of these negotiations was.
Vidal believes that the North American offensive against Gaesa "could cause a reconfiguration of the geography of international capitals, in which Cuba will find itself inserting".
The departure of tourist multinationals also poses a logistical problem for the Cuban authorities: what to do with a huge hotel network built during years of tourism expansion, if the number of visitors has been reduced to a minimum?
One option, for Ricardo Torres, would be to concentrate the few visitors in fewer facilities.
"Why have so many hotels open, if there are no visitors?", he asks.
Another challenge is the preservation of the facilities, with their high fixed maintenance costs, electricity and personnel, which are unlikely to be taken over by the Cuban State.
"If this situation continues over time, the facilities will inevitably deteriorate, as the resources for their maintenance simply do not exist", concludes Torres.

Source: G1