Marriott Wants to Open More Hotels in Cuba

27 January 2017 10:51pm

Marriott International is working with Cuban authorities to open several other hotels in Cuba, following the successful inauguration of Four Points by Sheraton Havana in the summer of 2016, the company’s President and CEO, Arne Sorenson, told Business Insider in a recent interview.

Starwood Hotels Makes Historic Opening in Havana

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Sorenson said he expects to open a new hotel in Havana in early 2017 and that Marriott is going for more on the island nation. “We're talking about another handful of hotels in Cuba after that,” he said in the interview.

Arne Sorenson, who is the first non-family member to run Marriott International, the largest publicly-traded hotel chain in the world, accompanied President Barack Obama during his March 2016 historic trip to Cuba.

“It's always great to be anywhere near the president. And it was fun to be in Cuba and to watch that whole thing unfold. I had been there once before. Cuba itself is a fascinating destination, particularly for Americans,” he told Business Insider reporter Alyson Shontell.

“The relationship between the US and Cuba has been so complicated for so many years that I think many people are intrigued by this island which is so close to Florida, and they really want to go and see it. That history makes the transition difficult politically, and made it interesting economically to watch President Obama there with the Cuban government, trying to get to know each other and explore the way the relationship is going to work between the two countries,” he went on to explain.

Sorenson became president and CEO in March 2012 and led the company through a $13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2016. The company now owns 30 hotel brands with 1.2 million rooms globally that are available to book.

In 2017, Marriott plans to open 500 new hotels. Sorenson spends around 200 days a year traveling and visiting Marriott locations.