The most interesting part I thought was that they double checked everything with the US Government. Also, that they are not allowed to book travel from other countries to Cuba, only the US to Cuba. Is that because AirBnb is a US company and so it can't encourage other citizens to go to Cuba? That seems odd since Canadians have been able to travel to Cuba for decades.<p>>Turner says she "gut checked everything" with the U.S. government. Could Airbnb hire a Cuban photographer? (yes). Could it publish photos taken by a Cuban photographer on the website? (yes). Could it book travel for people outside of the United States to Cuba? (no).
I see this step as a great 'highlighter' of future opportunity for other businesses, both entering Cuba or other, difficult(?!) markets. It's not that there isn't a way, it's about looking at all options and adapting or evolving to fit a need. Where there's a will, there's a way!
This sounds kinda similar to what's happening with the legalization of marijuana for recreational use - a lot of huge opportunities are being created for the companies willing to dive into waters that are still a little legally dubious. A huge amount of money may well be coming into Cuba in the next 5-10 years, and it may be easy to get a dominant position in a particular market just by being first.<p>And then we can hope that the increased economic activity will be more effective at triggering political reform there than the sanctions have been...