August 22, 2025 — Belly of the Beast
In Cuba, a lot of families get by renting rooms in their own homes to tourists. These B&Bs (or casas particulares, as they’re known in Cuba) sustain communities, create local jobs and offer travelers an authentic cultural experience.
The business was booming after Obama’s opening with Cuba in 2014.
But U.S. sanctions have decimated Cuba’s tourism industry, greatly reducing the number of visitors and cutting Cuban homeowners off from booking services like Airbnb and Expedia.
Hear from the Cuban entrepreneurs themselves about how their businesses have been impacted in our latest video.
Countless Cuban families once relied on tourism for their livelihoods. Not long after Obama’s opening with Cuba in 2014, Cuba was welcoming over 4 million visitors per year. That number has been cut in half. Cuban B&B’s (or casas particulares, as they’re known in Cuba) sustain communities, create local jobs, and offer travelers an authentic cultural experience. But the business has been decimated by U.S. sanctions. Trump’s sanctions banned cruise ships, restricted flights, and placed Cuba back on the U.S. ”State sponsors of terrorism” blacklist, changing everything. Airbnb stopped paying Cuban hosts without international accounts, and Expedia was forced to halt its operations. The result? Today, ordinary Cubans are paying the price. B&B’s in Cuba are now empty. Families are struggling to survive without their only source of income.
