HAVANA (AP) — Online lodging service Airbnb is allowing travelers from around the world to book stays in private homes in Cuba after the San Francisco-based company received a special authorization from the Obama administration, Airbnb announced Sunday.
HAVANA (AP) — Online lodging service Airbnb is allowing travelers from around the world to book stays in private homes in Cuba after the San Francisco-based company received a special authorization from the Obama administration, Airbnb announced Sunday.
Airbnb was the first major American company to enter Cuba after Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro declared detente on Dec. 17, 2014. The service handles online listing, booking and payments for people looking to stay in private homes instead of hotels. Cuba has become its fastest-growing market, with about 4,000 homes added over the last year.
Airbnb had only been allowed to let U.S. travelers use its services in Cuba under a relatively limited Obama administration exception to the US trade embargo on the island.
The expansion of that license gives Airbnb the ability to become a one-stop shop for travelers seeking lodging in private homes, which have seen a flood of demand from travelers.
Airbnb’s new authorization was announced on the morning of an historic three-day trip by Obama to Cuba and a day after Starwood Hotels announced that it had signed a deal to run three Cuban hotels, becoming the first U.S. hotel company in Cuba since Fidel Castro took power in 1959 and took over the island’s hotels. Airbnb said world travelers could begin booking in Cuba on April 2, the anniversary of the country’s start of operations on the island.
Also on Sunday, Marriott International Inc. said it had gained Treasury Department authorization to pursue a deal in Cuba.