Airbnb becomes latest tech company to launch in Cuba

Over 1,000 casas particulares are available for rent in the country starting Thursday

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When the United States announced that it was finally going to start the process of thawing relations with Cuba late last year, it was almost like the tech world had been waiting for years to pounce on this opportunity. While there's obviously still a long way to go before relations between the two countries are fully diplomatic, that has not stopped some of our largest tech companies from already making their way over to the new market.

The latest to take advantage is Airbnb, which has announced that it will be expanding to Cuba starting on Thursday. 

Hosts in Cuba will list over 1,000 casas particulares, which are "traditional private home-stays run by local micro-entrepreneurs that have been a popular choice for visitors for many years," the company said. 

Since Cuba is a communist country, some may wonder how Cubans would even have the ability to rent out houses that actually belong to the government. That is because they do actually own these guesthouses; they were one of the country's first experiments with private business in decades, and were made possible by reforms introduced by President Raúl Castro in 2010, according to the Wall Street Journal. The new laws also allowed Cubans to open small restaurants in their houses. 

Roughly 40 percent of Airbnb's current listings in Cuba are available in Havana, with the other 60 percent in cities including Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Santa Clara. The company says that it is "eager to expand its presence to other areas of the island in the coming months."

That shouldn't be much of an issue given how much demand there are apparently is for Americans to stay in Cuba. After President Obama made his announcement in December, Airbnb saw searches for Cuba spike 70% and this year, Cuba has already become one of the company's most searched for destinations in Latin America, with more searches than Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, or Mexico City.

Cuban hosts will receive the same protection and benefits that the Airbnb platform offers, including eligiblility for Airbnb's Host Guarantee program, which reimburses up to $1 million for property damage.

There is already one problem that Airbnb is running into: low Internet access.

The country has a population of 11.3 million people; of those, only around 25%, or around 2.8 million, had Internet access in 2012, according to data from the World Bank. That number has presumably grown since, but it is unlikely to have moved all that much.

That may be misleading, though, as it only counts those who use government approved Internet, and not those who have found other ways to get access. Even so, access to fast Internet in the country is said to be particularly hard to come by.

The Cuban Airbnb users are getting around this problem, though, by working with hosting partners to help them manage their online requests and bookings. 

Another problem is obviously the travel ban that exists between the United States and Cuba, which will keep the number of people who can actually take advantage of this expansion relatively low, at least for the time being.

"When we founded Airbnb in 2008, our dream was to help create a world where you could belong anywhere, and that vision has taken root in almost every country in the world," Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk said in a statement. "For over 50 years, Cuba has been out of reach for most Americans. We couldn't be more excited that, starting today, licensed U.S. travelers will now be able to experience the unique culture and warm hospitality that makes the island so special through our new Cuban community.

As I said earlier, other tech companies have also been making their way over to Cuba in the last few months.

In early February Netflix announced that it has expanded to Cuba, offering it service for $7.99 to those in the country who have access to Internet connections and access to international payment methods.

Cuban citizens were given access to "a curated selection of popular movies and TV shows," including Netflix original series like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Marco Polo, as well as kids programming like All Hail King Julien, The Adventures of Puss in Boots and original documentaries including Virunga and The Square.

Then, in March, it was reported that Amazon had begun laying the groundwork for eventually being able to ship packaged to Cuba, though given the trade embargo that still exists between the two countries, it seems more that Amazon is getting ready for a future where the United States and Cuba eventually lift that ban.

Airbnb is not exactly in the same boat, since there are U.S. citizens who can travel to the country now, but it has to be hoping for a lift of the travel ban so more people can take advantage.