Mayer Brown and Holland & Knight guide Starwood into Cuba
On the eve of President Obama´s trip to Cuba in March, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced it had signed three hotel deals in Cuba, marking the first U.S. based hospitality company to enter the market in nearly 60 years.
This announcement follows authorization from the U.S. Treasury Department for Starwood to operate in the country. Long-time Havana icon, Hotel Inglaterra, will join The Luxury Collection and Hotel Quinta Avenida will become a Four Points by Sheraton. Both hotels will undergo renovations before raising their new brand flags later in 2016. The company also announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent to convert the famed Hotel Santa Isabel into a member of The Luxury Collection.
Partners Rajesh De and Richard Ben-Veniste at Mayer Brown and Holland & Knight´s Ronald Oleynik and Andrew McAllister assisted the hotelier on this deal, according to market reports.
Starwood was also advised by D17 Strategies, a consulting firm providing strategic counsel to clients seeking to carry out Cuban trade, investment, travel, and exchanges permitted under new U.S. regulations.