Irish will play their role in Cuba’s burgeoning economic revolution

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has become the first US hotel company to sign a deal with Cuba since the 1959 revolution, coming as a result of President Obama’s historic visit to the country earlier this week.

Starwood, which employs 500 staff at its customer service hub in Cork, received permission from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for its plan to manage and market three iconic Havana hotels.

The properties include Hotel Santa Isabel, one of the city’s grandest hotels on Plaza de Armas, and Hotel Inglaterra, a 19th-century colonial structure on Central Park in Old Havana, both of which will join Starwood’s Luxury Collection.