Airbnb adds Cuba to its list of destinations

Airbnb has decided to add Cuba to its list of destinations.

More than 1,000 properties in Cuba are already listed, but can only be booked by users in the US.

The home holiday rental site is restricted from showing the listings elsewhere because of a US trade embargo against Cuba.

Nevertheless, Airbnb said Cuba could eventually become one of its biggest markets in Latin America.

“We are actually plugging into an existing culture of micro-enterprise in Cuba,” said the company’s regional director Kay Kuehne.

“The hosts in Cuba have been [renting out rooms to travelers] for decades.”

The initial listings range from $15 a night for a private room in Trinidad to $1,100 a night for the whole of a five-bedroom “chalet” in Havana.

Airbnb visitors outside the US can view the listings, but can only add them to their wish lists, rather than book them. An on-screen alert states that the site is not licensed to provide booking services to others.

The US recently began allowing Americans to travel to Cuba if they obtained a special license, which can be granted for activities including family visits, educational activities and public performances.

The White House said it would like tourism to be added to the list, and President Barack Obama has urged Congress to begin work to drop the wider sanctions.

Visitors across the globe can still find listings for Cuba-based rooms via other US services, including TripAdvisor, which allows users to contact hosts directly but does not take a cut of the bookings itself.