Cuba Re-opening to Tourists and Casas Particulares - Bad News

[Nino]

Just stumbled on two articles regarding Cuba re-opening travel to the island.

First stated that borders will open August 1st - not earlier. But it has not been confirmed officially.

Second is a report on Casas Particulares that are struggling to survive without foreign tourists to rent to.
While they are "officially" closed and not allowed to rent to locals by law, some have gone to renting "on the side" to local couples on an "hourly basis".

From charging 35 to 40 CUC a night to a tourist some have been renting as low as 3 CUC without A/C or 4 CUC with A/C an hour always fearing being fined/closed by state control officers.

But the more ominous news is that is is feared that when re-opening to tourism it will be mandatory for visitors to stay in hotels as Casas Particulares will not be allowed to accept tourists for fear of uncontrolled virus propagation, which is a good excuse to shut down the private renting enterprise that competes with the state hotels.

Not confirmed - yet - but if so there goes Cuba travel for many of us that stay in Casas and would not stay in a hotel.

https://www.cubanet.org/destacados/casas-de-renta-para-extranjeros-del-lujo-a-la-pobreza/

[StogieSteve23]

Very sad news for their economy and the owners of Casas.  @nino you hit the nail on the head though with it being a good excuse for their government to put even more restrictions on or completely dismantle this sector of private enterprises in Cuba.  Lets hope it doesn't come to that for everyone's sake.  It would be a complete regression for their economy and tourism to the island.  

[havanaclub]

Wonder why vacation packages are being sold as early as July 3rd


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[ElJavi76]

I also heard the fear of visitors being quarantined. Not sure that would fly. Nobody is going to Cuba for 3 weeks to spend a week after they clear a 2 week quarantine. I think this is all speculation. 

@nino I think you're onto something here with them shutting down the casas. They've lost a ton of revenue with the shutdown, the govt that is. It will be slow at the outset too, so this is the govt trying to get back some of that lost revenue. I've heard your stories from your experiences at some hotels and completely understand your position on them. I just sent my Cuban passport in this past week for renewal. I'm hoping some of these things clear up before Nov as my flight is already booked. Very sad to see this and hoping things reopen to a different tune. Tough read!

[El Presidente]

It doesn't look good for November 

The last thing I would want is restrictions on this and restrictions on that when I am going on vacation.  

[StogieSteve23]

13 minutes ago, ElJavi76 said:

 

@nino I think you're onto something here with them shutting down the casas. They've lost a ton of revenue with the shutdown, the govt that is. It will be slow at the outset too, so this is the govt trying to get back some of that lost revenue. 

This is an interesting point.  Do you think that this is financially smart for them in the long run though? By them shutting down casas, my personal belief is that a lot of people, Americans mostly, wont want to visit the island in fear of not going "by the book".  This seems like a huge loss of overall revenue for them from tourism dollars that would have otherwise been coming to the island.  Even if those people are only staying in Casas and only dining at Paladars, they would be spending sometimes several thousands of dollars in the purchasing of cigars (I know this isn't everyone).  I understand their position and why they want to do it but it doesn't seem smart.  Just my personal opinion.  Such a beautiful country with even more wonderful people.  Very sad to see if this goes through. 

[LLC]

Wonder why vacation packages are being sold as early as July 3rd


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Maybe so they can take your money then cancel the trip and give you a voucher instead of a refund.


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[SenorPerfecto]

If they want to end US tourism for good, closing the casas is a good plan. Because we can't stay in hotels.

[helix]

What is the covid19 situation in Cuba? Cant seem to find any reports . Is this possible/accurate from Al Jezeera ?

 

 Cuba

Coronavirus Cases:

2,205

Deaths:

83

Recovered:

1,880

[El Presidente]

7 minutes ago, helix said:

What is the covid19 situation in Cuba? Cant seem to find any reports . 

Cuba declares COVID-19 ‘under control’

The Cuban government says coronavirus pandemic is ‘under control’ after nine days without a death from COVID-19.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/cuba-declares-covid-19-under-control-200609093708000.html

 

 

[havanaclub]

Maybe so they can take your money then cancel the trip and give you a voucher instead of a refund.


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Exactly. I already have a voucher from March break.


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[Nino]

10 hours ago, helix said:

What is the covid19 situation in Cuba? Cant seem to find any reports . Is this possible/accurate from Al Jezeera ?

 

 Cuba

Coronavirus Cases:

2,205

Deaths:

83

Recovered:

1,880

Accurate as far as you can trust Cuban numbers ...

This site is serious :  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

And this the official Cuban gvmt Covid-19 Site :  https://salud.msp.gob.cu/

 

[Nino]

15 hours ago, ElJavi76 said:

 

@nino I think you're onto something here with them shutting down the casas. They've lost a ton of revenue with the shutdown, the govt that is. It will be slow at the outset too, so this is the govt trying to get back some of that lost revenue.

@ElJavi76 - I thought a few weeks ago that the most likely scenario for a re-opening for tourists from the Cuban gvmt perspective would be to take them into " tourist Ghettos" like Varadero or Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo where they are isolated from the population ( as it used to be until not so long ago for ideological reasons ) and easily controlled - at least for the first year or so ...

Hope I am wrong..

Not being able to stay in a Casa would be a definitive "no-go reason" for me.

 

[ElJavi76]

@nino You're not wrong. Just chatted yesterday with my friend and forum fav Jorge Clavijo (driver). Phase 1 reopening in Cuba will be to Los Cayos. Our norm of travel there, where we can vacation without restriction won't happen until phase 3. I mentioned November to Jorge and he said, things should move along before then. So, your hunch was spot on, but I hope by year's end we're down there enjoying phase 3+. 

Saludos,

Javi

[Nino]

3 minutes ago, ElJavi76 said:

@nino You're not wrong. Just chatted yesterday with my friend and forum fav Jorge Clavijo (driver). Phase 1 reopening in Cuba will be to Los Cayos. Our norm of travel there, where we can vacation without restriction won't happen until phase 3. I mentioned November to Jorge and he said, things should move along before then. So, your hunch was spot on, but I hope by year's end we're down there enjoying phase 3+. 

Saludos,

Javi

@ElJavi76 Kinda makes sense and it was my hunch from the start. Sort of a "protected tourism bubble".

Thanks for checking with Jorge ( and pass my regards to him please ).

Hopefully the phases move along quickly but I see a "black moon phase" for November - my hunch again tells me that a "normal" November will not be in the cards ( as much as Cuba needs the tourist dollar ), they will try and stick them into the "ghettoes" and not have them run loose around the city/island ...

Again : Hope I'm wrong.

[Nino]

Just checked the Cuban press and it's official - 3 Phases for re-opening.

@ElJavi76  Jorge is right.

Phase 1 & 2 - opening of tourism only in the northern & southern Keys and under medical supervision, guarded by medical staff, frequent temp. checks and provided you submit to PCR testing and are CV free.

 

Quote

El país se abre al turismo internacional, concentrado solo en los cayos del norte y sur de la isla. A cada viajero se le tomará varias veces la temperatura y se le realizará una prueba PCR para determinar la presencia del virus. En los hoteles serán vigilados por un grupo de especialistas sanitarios.

Havana will only be in the last phase - Phase 3 as it has the most cases so far.

Phase 3 :

Cuba opens borders and allows tourists BUT considers separating them from the local population.

Casas would re-open but under medical supervision.

The HAV Trade Fair scheduled for October has been cancelled due to CV.

Quote

 

Reabren las fronteras. En esta fase los turistas internacionales podrán acceder a polos del resto del país, aunque las autoridades cubanas estudian si será necesario separar a los extranjeros de los nacionales. Se mantiene el protocolo sanitario a la llegada de cada vuelo.

- Reabren, para alojar a turistas extranjeros, las casas particulares de renta (con protocolo de higiene y sistema para reportar a clientes con síntomas respiratorios).

Lo que sí queda aplazado este año es la Feria Internacional de La Habana (FIHAV), la mayor y más importante bolsa comercial del país, cuya edición de 2020 estaba programada para octubre.

 

If Cuba cancels its most important trade fair that generates 2 billion CUC orders/contracts for the island, I am quite sure the Partagas Meeting is doomed ...

Again - hope I'm wr.... ?

A Chinese curse says : I hope you live in interesting times.
What did we do to deserve these times I ask.

Source : https://www.14ymedio.com/nacional/reapertura-Cuba-fases-calendario-fijo_0_2892310741.html

[Viva Vegas]

On 6/9/2020 at 5:28 PM, SenorPerfecto said:

If they want to end US tourism for good, closing the casas is a good plan. Because we can't stay in hotels.

Of course we can stay in hotels as Americans.

[Nino]

11 minutes ago, Viva Vegas said:

Of course we can stay in hotels as Americans.

Interesting - Please explain which hotels are allowed for Americans and source ?

 

[Nino]

 

The skinny as explained by Gaviota - the official Cuban military hotel & Tour group :

 

[helix]

That is not very enticing at all.

[Habana Mike]

Confirms what I heard from my Cuban family:

good morning my dear friend!!! I tell you that Cuba will open from next week in three phases.
The first will be for national tourism only, and it will not open any nightclub, and restaurants, GYMs and bars will only open to 50% of their capacity and should only use the outdoor areas ...
Interprovincial trips will open, and tourists will be able to come but they will only be able to enter to the North and South Caye.
The second face is when the pools will open (what is it when we start operating) ??‍♂️
And the third face will be total openness, in any case a series of measures that affect the operation of this business will remain perpetually ... ??‍♂️
Let's see what happens, what is certain is that until next month is that I will be able to work if there are clients of course ??‍♂️

[La_Tigre]

Curious how that works for those from the US if the only way in is to fly to Havana? 

[Nino]

Here are the details for the re-opening of tourism in Cuba :

https://www.cubabusinessreport.com/cuba-reopening-tourism-in-three-phase-plan/

 

Aside from all the medical attention - it feels more like checking into a hospital rather than a vacation - I love the point that "police cars will escort the tourist buses" to the resorts in the Keys....

 

In other words : A medical vacation under police escort.

[StogieSteve23]

On 6/10/2020 at 10:15 AM, nino said:

Not being able to stay in a Casa would be a definitive "no-go reason" for me.

 

I second this. 

Seeing what their government makes their own people go through makes me not want to stay at a hotel.  I feel bad enough more or less syphoning as much of my own money as I do to their regime just bases solely on the purchasing of cigars. 

I think they're trying to steer more American tourists in the direction of going to Hotels vs. Casas, which in the long run, my personal belief is that it would ultimately work against them (maybe that's what they want?).  There are currently many Americans who visit the island and do so by staying at government run lodging facilities, but I would like to believe that the vast majority of US citizens traveling there do so by utilizing Casas and would not return of that option is no longer in play. 

[La_Tigre]

9 hours ago, StogieSteve23 said:

I second this. 

Seeing what their government makes their own people go through makes me not want to stay at a hotel.  I feel bad enough more or less syphoning as much of my own money as I do to their regime just bases solely on the purchasing of cigars. 

I think they're trying to steer more American tourists in the direction of going to Hotels vs. Casas, which in the long run, my personal belief is that it would ultimately work against them (maybe that's what they want?).  There are currently many Americans who visit the island and do so by staying at government run lodging facilities, but I would like to believe that the vast majority of US citizens traveling there do so by utilizing Casas and would not return of that option is no longer in play. 

Agreed. If the US regulations only allow flights into Havana and Cuban regulations only allow flights to the Keys...then its a no go for any of us anyway....unless the old methods come into play. And why, for a stay at a mid notch resort hospital prison....?