Melia Hotels International is immediately terminating the management, commercialization and brand licensing services for 15 of its hotels and resorts in Cuba, citing worsening geopolitical, legal and economic conditions on the island.
The decision was made by Melia's Portuguese subsidiary, Ilha Bela Gestao e Turismo Ltd., which operated the properties. Melia said impacted hotel owners were notified of the termination on May 26, with a public announcement made Wednesday via a regulatory filing with Spain's National Securities Market Commission.
The 15 affected properties are spread across Havana, Varadero, Cayo Santa Maria, Cayo Coco and Holguin, and include hotels and resorts flagged under Melia's Paradisus, Sol, Melia, Innside and The Melia Collection brands.
Melia said the vast majority of these properties were already closed due to Cuba's ongoing energy challenges and declining tourism demand.
The company added the move stemmed from "a combination of supervening circumstances beyond Ilha Bela's capacity to manage or control, all of which have had a significant impact on the operation, legality and security" of services at those properties.
On a Cuba-specific website, Melia still has 20 other Cuban properties listed throughout Havana, Trinidad, Varadero, Cayo Coco, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.
Melia's partial exit comes amid broader collapse of Cuba's tourism sector, with the destination recording less than half the number of visitors so far this year than last year, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information of Cuba.
The drastic decline is due to an ongoing energy crisis, airline disruptions, a federal indictment in the U.S. of the former Cuban president Raul Castro and heightened tensions between the U.S. and Cuba.