Reports have surfaced that Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International are seeking approval to do business in Cuba, as Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson prepares to be part of President Obama’s upcoming historic visit to the island.
Sorenson, vice chairman of the President’s Export Council, will be part of the U.S. delegation traveling with Obama on the March 20-22 trip, which will mark the first time a sitting U.S. president visits Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
Regarding business ventures on the island, a Marriott spokesperson would only say it was hoping for a "green light."
Starwood stated that it has "applied for authorization from the U.S. Treasury Department to operate hotels in Cuba.”
"We see many opportunities for the expansion of our brands into Cuba at this inflection point, and look forward to building long-term relationships and welcoming travelers into our hotels in this dynamic market,” Starwood said.
The Wall Street Journal first identified that the two hotel companies were pushing to makes deals allowing them to do business in Cuba, a report that came out days after U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) published an open letter to Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew urging the federal government to amend regulations to legally allow for U.S. hotel operators to build hotels in Cuba.
Klobuchar also will join Obama in Cuba as part of a group of about 20 Republican and Democrat members of Congress.
Marriott is under contract to acquire Starwood for $12.2 billion, and the acquisition is slated to close mid-year, though Starwood last week received a competing buyout bid from China-based Anbang Insurance Group worth about $12.8 billion.