MIAMI, United States — Iberostar confirmed on Tuesday that it no longer operates or markets any hotels in Cuba, while the Barceló Group said it intends to avoid any risks arising from U.S. sanctions, which would mean not renewing the contracts for its two hotels in Varadero when they expire in 2027.
The withdrawal of both companies coincides with Meliá’s complete exit from the island. Meliá is scheduled to end its hotel management, marketing, and supply services in Cuba on July 24.
«Iberostar Cuba Hotels & Resorts confirms that it no longer operates or markets any hotels in Cuba. The company continues to support its teams during this transition while maintaining its commitment to the country’s future,» the company told the Spanish newspaper El País.
Iberostar did not specify when operations at its remaining properties ended or what will happen to the hotels it had managed in partnership with Cuban state-owned entities.
The complete withdrawal concludes a process that began on June 1, when Iberostar ceased managing and marketing 12 of the 18 hotels it then operated in Cuba. The decision affected the following properties:
- Iberostar Grand Packard
- Selection Ensenachos
- Coral Ensenachos
- Selection Holguín
- Coral Holguín
- Selection Esmeralda
- Coral Esmeralda
- Selection La Habana
- Origin Bella Vista Varadero
- Origin Laguna Azul
- Origin Playa Pilar
- Origin Playa Alameda
These hotels were linked to the military-run conglomerate Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA).
At the time, Iberostar retained management of six hotels operated under agreements with the state-owned companies Cubanacán and Gran Caribe:
- Grand Trinidad
- Marqués de la Torre
- Origin Daiquiri
- Origin Taínos
- Selection Parque Central
- Selection Varadero
The company said the reduction was part of «a process of adaptation to the international regulatory environment» and maintained that it was intended to preserve its standards of «quality, compliance, and management.»
Barceló’s situation differs because its departure has not yet been completed. The Spanish hotel group still operates the Barceló Solymar and Occidental Arenas Blancas hotels, both in Varadero, whose management contracts were renewed in 2017 for a ten-year term.
In June, Raúl González, CEO of Barceló Hotel Group for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said the company’s position was to «comply with the regulations established by the United States» and «avoid taking any risks with the two hotels.»
«For the time being, we have a contract through next year, unless the regulations change or we receive a clear signal,» González said.
Meliá, until now the foreign hotel company with the largest presence in Cuba, informed Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) on July 21 that its subsidiary Ilha Bela will terminate, effective July 24, the management and marketing services for all the hotels it still operated in the country.
«This decision is the result of the significant operational, legal, economic, and financial difficulties that have persistently affected—and continue to affect—the environment in that country, making it impossible, both in practice and in law, to maintain even minimal operational stability in its activities,» Meliá said in its filing with Spain’s securities regulator.
At its peak, Meliá operated 34 hotels and approximately 14,000 guest rooms in Cuba.
The withdrawal of the hotel chains accelerated after the U.S. administration expanded sanctions against GAESA, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and the Ministry of the Interior. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) warned that non-U.S. persons and entities, including foreign financial institutions, could be exposed to sanctions if they engage in certain transactions with blocked individuals or companies.
The departure of the foreign hotel chains does not necessarily mean the hotels themselves will close. The Spanish companies managed and marketed hotels owned by Cuban state enterprises under management contracts. Industry sources cited by Reuters explained in June that some of the hotels affected by the initial withdrawals would continue operating under the direct management of Gaviota, GAESA’s tourism arm, although they would lose the departing chains’ brands, commercial distribution channels, and international reservation systems.
The corporate exodus also comes amid the collapse of Cuba’s tourism industry. According to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), tourist arrivals fell 58.4% between January and May 2026.
The complete withdrawal of Iberostar and Meliá leaves the Cuban government without two of its principal international partners for hotel management, promotion, and marketing. The Cuban government has not publicly explained how it plans to replace the commercial networks, reservation systems, and international brand recognition that these companies provided at a time when both hotel occupancy and visitor arrivals remain at historic lows.
