In depth
Running a hotel in Cuba: staff, supplies, power, seasons and the realities of daily operations
Hotels everywhere face the same basic tasks: filling rooms, feeding guests, keeping the lights on and training staff. In Cuba each of these tasks has its own features, from the way staff are hired to the way food and spare parts are obtained. This guide describes the operating environment of a Cuban resort or hotel as it appears in public reports: labour, supply chains, utilities, seasonality, quality and guest expectations. It is a description of conditions, not a business offer.
People and training
Cuba has a well-educated workforce and a tradition of hotel schools that train staff for the tourism sector. Hotels recruit employees mainly through state employment arrangements, and wages are paid under Cuban rules. Guests often remark on the friendliness and professionalism of staff. Operators emphasise training in languages, service standards and food safety.
Staff turnover is affected by emigration and by the attraction of better-paid work in the private sector, and managers have described the difficulty of retaining experienced employees. Recruiting for specialised roles can take time.
Supplies and spare parts
A large part of what a hotel uses, from linen and cleaning products to cooking oil and equipment, has to be bought through state suppliers or imported. Availability can vary, and hotels have reported difficulties obtaining certain items. Spare parts for air conditioners, kitchens and elevators may take months to arrive. Planned maintenance and stock of key parts become more important than in markets where replacements are quickly available.
Food is partly sourced from Cuban farms and partly imported. Seasonal availability of fruit, vegetables and seafood shapes menus. Chefs often adapt to what can be obtained, and some hotels have developed arrangements with local producers.
Power, water and communications
Reliable utilities are central. Many resorts have their own generators and water storage to bridge outages, and some have installed solar panels and solar water heaters. Connectivity has improved but is still more limited and costly than in many destinations, which affects reservations, payments and guest expectations. Operators plan for redundancy in systems that guests notice most: air conditioning, refrigeration and hot water.
Seasons and demand
Demand is highly seasonal. The peak runs from December to April, when visitors from colder countries arrive, with a shorter peak around July and August for domestic and some international travellers. May to November is lower and also the hurricane season. Hotels adjust staffing and maintenance accordingly, using the low season to carry out repairs.
Source markets have shifted over time. Canada has long been the largest, followed by European countries and, in recent years, Russia and others. Changes in air links, in sanctions and in the global economy can move volumes quickly, and the pandemic caused a sharp fall from which recovery has been uneven.
Quality, classification and reviews
Hotels in Cuba are classified by a star system administered by the tourism authorities, and guests also rely on online reviews. Reviews frequently mention the beach, the service and the food, and sometimes the age of facilities or lapses in maintenance. For operators, reputation is shaped by consistency, and investment in renovation cycles is a constant concern.
Safety and emergencies
Hotels have plans for hurricanes, which include shutters, evacuation to safer buildings and stocks of food and water. They coordinate with civil defence, which issues alerts in stages. Health and safety measures include food hygiene, pool safety and fire protection. Guests are advised to follow instructions from staff and local authorities in an emergency.
This page describes general conditions and does not manage, sell or advise on any hotel. It is not an invitation to invest.
The three numbers hoteliers watch
Hotel managers everywhere track three figures. Occupancy is the share of available rooms that are sold on a given night. The average daily rate is the average revenue earned per room sold. Revenue per available room, usually shortened to RevPAR, multiplies the two, or equivalently divides total room revenue by all rooms on offer, sold or not. A hotel with 80 per cent occupancy at a modest rate can earn less per available room than one with 60 per cent at a higher rate, which is why managers do not look at occupancy alone.
Resorts that sell all-inclusive packages, as many in Cuba do, measure revenue per occupied room including food and drink, since the guest pays a single price. They also track costs per guest night, such as food, energy and labour. When supplies are unreliable, cost control and menu planning become central, because a missing ingredient or a generator running for hours changes the arithmetic of a night.
Food and drink supply in practice
A resort kitchen must feed hundreds of guests three times a day. Ingredients come from several sources: state wholesale suppliers, local farms and cooperatives, fishing enterprises and imports. Seafood, fruit and vegetables are often local, while items such as cooking oil, dairy, wine and spirits may be imported. Menus therefore reflect what can be obtained, and chefs develop dishes around Cuban staples such as rice, beans, pork, chicken, fish, plantain and tropical fruit.
Reliable cold storage is essential, and the planning of purchases is a daily task. Some resorts have agreements with farms to receive regular deliveries and have helped growers improve quality. Others rely on trucks bringing goods from Havana over long distances, which adds risk. Guests who understand these constraints tend to be more forgiving of an occasional change to the menu.
Maintenance as a discipline
A resort is a machine with many moving parts: air-conditioning plants, kitchens, laundries, pools, pumps, elevators, boilers and hundreds of rooms. Maintenance teams work on a planned cycle, painting rooms, replacing mattresses, servicing equipment and repairing plumbing. In a salt-laden tropical environment, corrosion attacks metal fittings, air-conditioning coils and electrical contacts. Spare parts may take months to arrive, so teams stock critical items and learn to repair rather than replace.
Planned closures of sections of the hotel during the low season allow deeper renovation. Good practice includes logs of repairs, a schedule of renovation of rooms every few years and an inventory of spare parts. These practices separate hotels that age gracefully from those that decline.
Managing energy and water
Energy is one of the largest costs and risks for a hotel. Air conditioning, refrigeration, lighting and hot water consume most of it. Measures to reduce use include efficient chillers, key-card switches that turn off power when a room is empty, LED lighting, solar water heaters, insulation and shading. Many Cuban resorts have installed such measures and some have solar farms to supplement supply. Water efficiency, through low-flow fittings, reuse of wastewater for gardens and prompt repair of leaks, saves resources.
Backup generation is common, and fuel storage and supply must be managed carefully. In practice a resort's energy plan is part of its guest experience, since a reliable supply of cold air and hot water is expected by visitors.
Guest health, safety and service recovery
Operators follow protocols for food safety, pool hygiene, fire protection and emergency response. Staff are trained in first aid, and resorts have medical rooms or arrangements with nearby clinics. During hurricane alerts, hotels activate plans for the safety of guests and staff. Complaints are inevitable in any hotel, and the skill of service recovery, listening, apologising and fixing the problem promptly, often decides whether a guest leaves satisfied.
Staff welfare, transport and housing
Many resorts are located far from towns, so staff need transport, meals and sometimes accommodation. Operators arrange buses, canteens and uniforms, and some provide housing in nearby settlements built for tourism workers. Welfare, from fair scheduling to opportunities for training and promotion, influences retention. The long-term success of resort operations depends on the people who run them, and on the conditions in which they work.
This page describes general operating conditions based on public sources. It does not manage hotels, recruit staff or offer investment.
Seasonal staffing and scheduling
Hotels adjust staffing to demand. In the high season, they need more waiters, housekeepers, receptionists and kitchen staff, and in the low season they reduce hours or use the time for training and leave. Scheduling rotas fairly and predictably matters for morale. Managers also plan for peaks around holidays and events. Cross-training lets employees help in other departments when needed. Good scheduling reduces costs and improves service.
In Cuba, labour arrangements and seasonality interact with the national framework for employment, which operators must respect.
Guest feedback and continuous improvement
Operators collect feedback through comment cards, surveys and online reviews. Reading them regularly shows patterns, such as complaints about air conditioning, praise for staff or concerns about food variety. Acting on feedback, and telling guests what has changed, builds loyalty. Many resorts hold daily meetings where department heads review the previous day's issues. A culture of continuous improvement turns small problems into opportunities.
The guest journey from airport to departure
A guest's stay is a chain of moments, and hotel managers map it carefully. It begins with the transfer from the airport, where the quality of the vehicle, the driver and the information matters. Check-in sets the tone: a welcome drink, a clear explanation and a smooth process are valued. In the room, cleanliness, working air conditioning and hot water matter. Meals, entertainment and activities fill the days. Problems are handled by staff who listen and act. Departure involves an efficient check-out and a pleasant farewell.
Managers look for friction at each point, such as long queues, unclear signage or tired rooms, and fix it. In Cuba, where some elements are constrained, excellence in the human aspects of service becomes the differentiator.
Guests remember the emotions of the stay, and a warm goodbye often shapes the final review.
Safety systems in a resort: a short guide
Resorts maintain systems to protect guests. Fire detection and suppression, emergency lighting, evacuation plans, trained first-aid staff, pool lifeguards, secure storage of chemicals and food-safety controls are standard. Beach areas have flags and lifeguards. Staff are trained to respond to storms and to guide guests to shelter. Guests can help by reading safety notices, following instructions and reporting hazards. A good safety culture is largely invisible until it is needed.
Handling complaints well: a manager's checklist
A good manager handles complaints with a method. Listen fully without defending. Apologise sincerely for the inconvenience. Ask what the guest would like. Act quickly, within your authority. Follow up to check the guest is satisfied. Record the issue and look for root causes. Train staff in these steps. Guests often remember how a problem was handled more than the problem itself.
Common questions
- How are hotel staff hired?
- Mainly through state employment arrangements, with training from tourism schools.
- Why do some hotels have power outages?
- Because of strains on the national grid. Many resorts use generators and solar systems as backup.
- When is high season?
- From December to April, with a shorter peak in July and August.
- What is the main source market?
- Canada has long been the largest, followed by Europe and others.
- Do you operate hotels?
- No. This page is information only.
- How do resorts handle supplies when shipments are late?
- Through stock buffers, substitutes, local sourcing and menu changes. Experienced chefs adapt, and managers prioritise essentials. Communication with guests about changes avoids disappointment.
- What certification do hotels follow?
- Hotels follow national classification and health rules, and some also adopt international standards for quality, safety and environment. Look for certificates on display or ask the hotel.
- How are guests protected during a hurricane?
- Through early warnings, shutters, moving guests to safe areas, stocks of food and water, backup power and coordination with civil defence. Follow staff instructions.
- How do hotels train staff in English and other languages?
- Through classes at hotel schools, language courses run by operators and on-the-job practice with guests. Many staff speak several languages, which is a notable strength of the sector.
Official sources and where to go next
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