An American’s Travels to Cuba to “Support the Cuban People”
A post-travel reflection on the visa category that allowed me, an American, to travel to Cuba, and how exactly American tourism supports the Cuban people.
Where are you from?” I hear called at me as I string through throngs of people crowding the streets on a hot spring day. “Los Estados Unidos”, I reply, to a big smile and a response of “Oh, I love your country!”
I am an American that has just returned from a trip to Cuba, and this exchange is one that happened multiple times a day during my time there. Given the rocky history between Cuba and the United States, I found it interesting just how keen the Cubans that I met were to declare that they loved my country. When I first arrived in Cuba, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. By the end of the week, however, I felt that I had peeled back the curtain just a bit and gotten a glance at what life is like in Cuba today, and how American tourism is shaping that reality.
Based on of the conversations that I have had with family and friends both before and after my trip, many Americans are a little bit shaky on what the actual rules are for Americans traveling to Cuba. I don’t blame them- before I planned this trip, I could not tell you what was required of me to be able to travel to Cuba as a United States citizen. I knew vaguely that Obama had loosened restrictions and was the first president in decades to visit Cuba. (I also knew that Beyonce had recently visited, as several attractions on the island were pointed out to me with the phrase “Beyonce went there when she was here!” It turns out she actually went in 2013, before it was made easier to do so by Obama. Classic Beyonce, leading the pack.)And I knew that Trump had proceeded to re-tighten those restrictions once in office.
The more specific chain of events that occurred is that in 2014, Obama re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba for the first time in 54 years. This meant that many Americans could finally visit Cuba, under the People to People Educational category. Late last year, however, Trump put new regulations in place. Now, as an American wishing to travel to Cuba, one must choose from 12 categories of authorized travel. The only category that allows for independent travel to Cuba is “Supporting the Cuban people”, which means that you must be participating in activities that support Cuban entrepreneurship and individual people.
What does that mean? For one thing, it means no staying in government owned hotels. So for any Americans hoping to go to Cuba to stay in a big hotel with a continental breakfast and a a rooftop swimming pool, you’re out of luck. For the rest of us, that means we need to stay in private accommodations or homestays called “casas particulares”. Think Airbnb, but in Cuba.
Speaking of Airbnb, many casa particulares today can be found on Airbnb. The company has recently been thriving in Cuba with American travelers. According to a Fortune article from 2016, “About 4,000 of Cuba’s estimated 20,000 casas particulares have signed up with Airbnb, and 13,000 Americans have booked rooms — making Cuba the fastest-growing market Airbnb has ever launched.”
As someone who really values getting a more authentic, local experience when traveling, I was totally open to staying in Airbnbs while in Cuba, as it would allow me to have more meaningful interactions with the Cubans that were operating the homestays. During my actual stay, however, I found that many questions arose, leading me to want to explore how exactly American tourism has impacted the lives of ordinary Cuban people.
I first arrived in Havana on a Saturday afternoon with two friends. First, we exchanged our Euros for CUC (Cuban convertible peso). We were told that American dollars are taxed more heavily upon exchange, and that coming with Euros would give us more bang for our buck. The CUC is one of two Cuban currencies, the other being simply the peso (CUP). The CUC is used mostly by tourists, while the CUP is used mostly by locals. Also, bank cards are rendered essentially useless for Americans in Cuba, so prepare to have enough cash to last your stay. (Interestingly, a Brit we met during our trip told us he had no problem visiting the ATM during his stay.)
We got a cab to our first casa particular in Havana, a beautiful colonial style apartment located up a steep flight of steps. We each had our own bedroom and bathroom, with beautiful marble surfaces and balconies that offered breathtaking views of Havana. There was a supply of bottled water, wine, and Cuban rum available for purchase. And our host, Walter, asked us if we wanted him to make us breakfast in the morning for 5 CUC. This is a common option in casas particulares. We said yes, so the next morning, Walter quietly slipped in and by the time we had specified, he had prepared a full Cuban breakfast with fresh fruit, eggs, and coffee.
Also notable is that, upon our arrival, Walter quickly gave us his recommendations for what we should do for food. In Spanish (many hosts do not speak extensive English, if they speak it at all), he told us about a restaurant a few blocks away. It is two floors, he explained, and the first floor is the same as the second floor, but much cheaper. We laughed, and the casa particular host quickly became our go-to confidant for all recommendations during our time on the island.
On our second day in Havana, we engaged in an Airbnb “experience”, where you can pay a local through Airbnb to lead you in a unique local experience. This experience was a Cuban food tour. We met up with a woman named Maryla, and her spouse, Ricardo. They led us to a paladar (a local, family-run restaurant and bar), where we learned about the history of Cuban cocktails, and then to a restaurant, and finally, a coffee shop. Sprinkled throughout the tour were tidbits of facts about Cuban life, as well as their general reflections about the changes that have been occurring in recent years.
One theme that stuck out to me in all of the comments was Ricardo’s positive attitude towards Americans, and his belief that Americans and Cubans, and all people in general, are more similar than we often lead ourselves to believe. As he explained, during the years when diplomatic relations did not exist between the U.S. and Cuba, many Cubans were led to believe that Americans were bad people. Now, however, he says that the influx of American tourists to Cuba has led him, along with many other Cubans, to see that they get along with, and actually enjoy the company of, Americans. As Ricardo said, “People are all the same. The only difference between us all is the location we are living in, and the government that has power over us.”
He also said that despite many Americans’ elevated income levels compared to that of the average Cuban person, he does not consider them to be that different. As he explained, everybody operates within what is normal for them and faces a unique set of challenges within that reality. “I am Cuban, so I stay here and work hard and hope that maybe one day I will be able to visit America,” he explains. “But if I was American, I would have the things that you do and instead I would come to Cuba for a nice vacation.”
At the end of the tour, Ricardo made a plea for tips, explaining that they don’t actually get the full amount of money that we paid on Airbnb for the experience. This was a bit confusing to me, but I left him a tip and made a note to myself to do some more research into this upon returning home.
What I have found is that while Airbnb has been very successful in Cuba, it is an extremely unique location. According to Internet freedom watchdog Freedom House, only about 5% of Cubans have access to Internet that is not controlled by the government. Furthermore, the economy runs largely on cash. Because Airbnb operates on the internet, and runs on digital payments, it is hard for it to operate in Cuba. That is why in Cuba, there are middlemen. According to Fast Company, “The company partnered with a handful of what it describes as “Internet cafes for hosting” that were already facilitating bookings online. These small businesses already had connections with most of the homes for rent on the island, and already charged them a fee for management services. Now they will handle Airbnb listings. Even for hosts who have bank accounts, Airbnb needs to work with intermediaries to deposit funds into their accounts. For the many hosts without access to bank accounts, it partnered with third parties who, in some cases, will deliver cash to their doorsteps.”
A report from Skift found that most of the listings in Cuba are managed by only a small handful of middlemen, acting as “property managers”- probably a select few of the small percentage of Cubans that actually have internet access. Having to go through these middlemen means that the actual hosts of the casas particulares have to pay a portion- often a quite sizeable one- of their earnings to these middlemen. They also have to pay transaction fees to Airbnb, and as far as I can tell, a decent amount in taxes to the government. This means that the hosts themselves only receive a small portion of the original fee paid by travelers on Airbnb.
We actually stayed in three different casas during our stay. Our next destination was a small city called Trinidad, a five hour drive from Havana. Our host in Trinidad arranged for our cab from Havana to Trinidad, which ended up being an extremely cramped, old car. The driver asked us, in Spanish, if we wanted to listen to music, and upon our affirmative response, he pushed a button that caused Dancing Queen by Abba to blare through the speakers. The car also came with a built-in DVD player that played the music videos. It felt quite surreal driving through Havana and then the Cuban countryside with an accompaniment of American hits from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Within a few minutes of our ride, we were pulled over by a police officer who informed our driver that his lights were broken. After our driver walked around the car for a few minutes with the officer, and gave him some money, we were well on our way. After five hours on the road, with a few stops for fresh fruit, we were in Trinidad.
Our casa in Trinidad was much more integrated into the family household than our first one had been. During our stay there, we frequently encountered the children, who would run around and play with the dog, and give us curious glances.
Also during our time in Trinidad, I booked another Airbnb “experience”. This experience was horseback riding to a secret waterfall. I actually booked it the night before while I had access to wifi in the public wifi spot. (By the way, do not expect much access to wifi while in Cuba. You have to purchase wifi cards that give you an hour of access to wifi, which can only really be found in public wifi parks).
One night in Trinidad, as we were venturing to a club in a cave (Disco Ayala, don’t miss it), a woman stopped us in the street. “Excuse me ladies, are you going to the club?” she said with a wink. We replied “Yes”. “Well, I am offering fresh homemade mojitos for just one CUC for people going to the club,” she said, gesturing to her house. We were initially a little bit sketched out by this, so we kindly declined and promised her we would return the next night.
Sure enough, the next night, we encountered her again, this time in a more public street, with little pieces of paper clutched in her hand. She was giving her address to tourists, telling them to stop by her house on the way to the club that night for mojitos. When we saw her, we again promised her we would stop by.
After a few mojitos in the plaza, my friend and I turned to each other saying “We have to go see mojito lady!” even though we couldn’t quite remember where her house was. After a few minutes of wandering, we found her, serving mojitos to some German tourists that had stopped. We engaged in conversation with the Germans, and after some time I decided to sit down next to “Mojito lady” and her spouse, who happened to be blind, and spoke even less English than she did.
“So,” I asked in Spanish, my curiosity getting the better of me, “what do you guys think about tourism here?”
“We love it,” she replied in Spanish. “We especially love American tourists because they have a lot of money,” she said.
“Have things really improved in the past few years, now that Americans are allowed to visit?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said emphatically.
“What about Airbnb? I heard that you only get to keep about 10% of the money. Is it still a good source of income?”
“Yes, that is true,” she said. “We only get a little. But it is still much better than whatever money we were making before.”
“So is Airbnb the best way to support the Cuban people?” I wondered. “Is there a better way to make sure you guys get the most money possible?”
“Not really, no,” she replied. “The only way we get all the money is the informal way.”
“So I should tell all my friends your phone number, and the phone numbers of my hosts, so they can book directly through you and you keep more of the money,” I said, laughing.
She laughed too, nodded, and proceeded to give me her name, number, and email address. Her name is Regla.
I really enjoyed Regla’s mojitos, but more than that, I enjoyed talking to her to get a better understanding of how tourism has shaped her life.
As an American traveling to Cuba, I do feel that my week was filled with authentic experiences. We went to many individually owned restaurants, often upon the recommendation of our casa hosts or even random people on the street. We took excursions, including one to Viñales, where we got to visit a tobacco plantation. And we met so many kind and endearing people along the way. I found that the Cuban people are very eager to speak with tourists, and are open about their experiences and their opinions on tourism. I feel very lucky to have been able to travel to Cuba firsthand and connect with them.
But I traveled under the pretense of “supporting the Cuban people”, and a lot of questions arose for me when I was in the actual country regarding how exactly I can best do that. I felt that there was a bit of a haze surrounding this trip before I was actually on the island, with me simply knowing I had to stay with Cuban people and spend money at independently owned businesses. The more time I spent in Cuba, however, the more I was able to observe, and more importantly, interact with Cuban people and ask them questions directly. I received a lot of insights, and now that I am home, I have dug deeper through some research. I have found that tourism does greatly benefit the Cuban people, and that the best form of tourism for supporting the average Cuban is that which is informal. Of course, it is easiest for us, as Americans, to plan ahead and book through Airbnb. While the hosts themselves do not make all of the money possible from Airbnb, it is still a great way for Americans and Cubans to connect, and the hosts are still pleased with the money they are making from the deal.
That being said, I encourage Americans traveling to Cuba to maintain a healthy balance of structure and spontaneity while on the island. I know for some, it can be stressful to enter into a trip without a rigid plan of what to do each day. But I found that speaking to my hosts, and the Cuban people in general, for recommendations, was very helpful, and many of them were more than willing to connect us to friends or people they knew that could lead us in excursions or to unique experiences. Be sure to ask around to get an idea of standard prices, to make sure you aren’t getting swindled, but getting recommendations from hosts is generally a good move. In addition, be sure to keep a log of the experiences you do have, in case you are asked upon return to the U.S. what exactly you did to support the Cuban people.
I hope this long-winded post provided an ounce of insight into my experiences as an American traveling to Cuba. I know that my experiences may not match everybody else’s. I also know that the future of American travel to Cuba is shaky, and all of this could change in the near future. For the time being, however, this is what I was able to piece together about the reality of American tourism in Cuba. For anyone reading that is interested in hearing more specific tips or traveling to Cuba themselves, feel free to reach out!
