Spanish Hotel Chain Meliá Abandons 15 of 34 Hotels in Cuba
The decision was communicated to Gaesa on May 26, according to a company statement. It was made public on June 3.
HAVANA TIMES — Melia is withdrawing from 15 of the 34 hotels it manages in Cuba, the company confirmed this Wednesday through its Portuguese subsidiary, Ilha Bela. The decision was reported to Spain’s National Securities Market Commission, the regulator responsible for overseeing corporate transparency, and although it had already been communicated on May 26 to the owner of the hotels, the military conglomerate Business Administration Group S.A. (Gaesa), it was only made public this Wednesday.
With Meliá’s decision, four international hotel chains have now withdrawn, either fully or partially, from Cuba in the past four days. The first was Canada’s Blue Diamond, followed by Spain’s Iberostar and Asia’s Aston. Altogether, around 60 luxury hotels (4- and 5-star properties) will no longer be managed by foreign companies.
The decision was taken “out of a deep sense of corporate responsibility and is the result of a combination of unforeseen circumstances beyond Ilha Bela’s management or operational capacity,” the statement says, referring to the sanctions announced in the executive order signed by Donald Trump on May 1, which are set to take effect this Friday, June 5.
The hotels affected are: Gran Hotel Bristol Habana Vieja, Innside Catedral Habana, Melia Buena Vista, Meliá Cayo Santa Maria, Melia Jardines del Rey, Melia Las Dunas, Melia Península Varadero, Paradisus Los Cayos, Paradisus Princesa Mar, Paradisus Río de Oro, Paradisus Varadero, Sol Caribe Beach, Sol Cayo Santa María, Sol Río de Luna y Mares, and Sol Varadero Beach.
The chain maintains that the impact will be “limited,” since nearly all of these hotels had already been closed due to the collapse of tourism, caused by the energy crisis and the suspension of international flights. Even so, Ilha Bela says it is “activating and implementing specific plans to carry out an orderly disaffiliation of these hotels.”
The statement adds that protocols are being followed to inform Melia’s suppliers and customers. Ilha Bela, based in Madeira, is the subsidiary through which the Mallorca-based company operated its Cuban hotels under the Melia, Paradisus, Sol, and Innside brands.
For now, Melia has provided no further details beyond the statement. The latest comments by Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of the Spanish hotel chain, came on May 20, just days before the decision was communicated to Gaesa. Speaking at a tourism event in a municipality in Mallorca, the businessman admitted that the situation on the island was “harsh” and “unsustainable” and said he viewed the outlook as highly uncertain.
“I think very few people know what is going to happen with Cuba today,” he replied when asked about future prospects.
Regarding the company’s business, he remained cautious. “We are consolidating and relocating the few remaining guests into the same hotels,” he said.
It is now known that the company will keep 19 establishments open, including three in Havana—Melia Cohiba, Melia Habana, and Sevilla Habana; two in Cienfuegos—Melia San Carlos, which faced a claim under the Helms-Burton Act, and La Union; and one in Sancti Spíritus—Melia Trinidad Península.
In the resort areas, it will continue operating Melia Internacional Varadero, Melia Las Americas, Melia Varadero, Melia Marina Varadero, Sol Palmeras, and Mystique Casa Perla by Royalton. It will also retain Melia Cayo Coco, Sol Cayo Coco, Melia Cayo Guillermo, and Sol Cayo Guillermo. Finally, in eastern Cuba it will continue managing Melia Santiago de Cuba, Sol Turquesa Beach (Holguín), and Paradisus Los Cactus.
Also present at that event was Marga Prohens of the Popular Party, president of the Balearic regional government, who commented that Balearic companies such as Melia are “examples of excellence, job creation, and opportunity in countries such as Cuba.”
In that regard, she added, her government would stand beside these companies “against any attack on their freedom” occurring “anywhere in the world,” referring to the threat of sanctions.
This Wednesday, shortly after the news broke, Jaume Bauza, the regional government’s tourism minister, also commented on the matter, expressing concern and conveying the administration’s willingness to “help in any way it can.”
“I haven’t yet been able to speak with the Mallorcan companies operating there, but I reiterate that we will stand by them. It is a commercial issue, but if we can help in any way, we will,” he said.
Although it is fundamentally a business matter, he insisted that the regional government views the situation facing these Mallorcan companies with “concern” and hopes “it can be resolved as quickly as possible,” both for the companies and for the Cuban people.
“Maximum cooperation, recognition, and willingness to help in any way we can,” he concluded.
For now, however, the issue does not appear likely to escalate into a political dispute. This Wednesday, elDiario.es published a report on pressure from the Trump administration on foreign companies, for which it consulted sources in Spain’s Foreign Ministry.
“The government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is closely monitoring with great concern the extraterritorial impact of the unilateral US measures against Cuba, which affect the interests of Spanish companies and further aggravate the humanitarian hardship faced by the Cuban population,” the sources stated.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the European Commission said that it is “aware that some European Union companies have in recent days been considering ending or reducing their economic activities in Cuba. We are closely monitoring developments. We expect all actors to ensure a level playing field for EU companies.”
This Monday, another Balearic hotel chain, Iberostar, confirmed its withdrawal from six of the twelve hotels it managed in Cuba that are owned by Gaesa. The company will continue, for the time being, managing those belonging to Cubanacan and Gran Caribe.
The Balearic newspaper Ultima Hora reviewed the situation of other companies from the archipelago, such as Blau, which manages three hotels in Cuba that are currently closed—two in Varadero and one in Havana—none of them owned by Gaviota. There is also Valentin Hotels, which operates three Gaesa-owned properties in Havana, Cayo Cruz, and Cayo Santa María and has not yet commented publicly.
Although it was not mentioned in the report, the family-owned Mallorcan chain Roc is in a similar predicament. It manages five hotels in Cuba, only one of which—Roc Casa del Mar—is owned by Gaesa, while three belong to Gran Caribe and one to Cubanacán. Finally, Barcelo has no agreements with Gaviota, and its two hotels—Barcelo Solymar and Occidental Arenas Blancas—belong to Gran Caribe.
“Now it’s time to wait and count to 21,” Mallorcan hoteliers told Última Hora.
According to the newspaper, despite the fact that recent years have been catastrophic for tourism on the island, the business owners maintain “their determination to continue operating in the country and preserve their leadership position, especially those seeking to recover investments made to reposition hotel properties.”
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted by Havana Times.