§515.210 Restrictions on lodging, paying for lodging, or making reservations at certain properties in Cuba.
(a) Except as otherwise authorized pursuant to this part, no person subject to U.S. jurisdiction may lodge, pay for lodging, or otherwise make any reservation for or on behalf of a third party to lodge, at any property in Cuba that the Secretary of State has identified as a property that is owned or controlled by the Cuban government, a prohibited official of the Government of Cuba, as defined in § 515.337, a prohibited member of the Cuban Communist Party, as defined in § 515.338, a close relative, as defined in § 515.339, of a prohibited official of the Government of Cuba, or a close relative of a prohibited member of the Cuban Communist Party. Such properties are identified on the State Department’s Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List (CPA List). This prohibition does not apply to certain transactions set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.
Note 1 to paragraph (a): The names, addresses, or other identifying details, as relevant, of properties that the Secretary of State has identified as meeting the criteria set forth in this section are incorporated in the CPA List as published in the Federal Register. The CPA List is also accessible through the following page on the State Department’s website: www.state.gov/cuba-sanctions/cuba-prohibited-accommodations.
(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to lodging-related transactions initiated prior to the date that the property was added to the CPA List as published in the Federal Register.
515.210, which was added to the CACR in Sept. 2020, operates much like the prohibition at 515.209 of the CACR. Both prohibitions work in conjunction with lists administered by the State Department, and both only apply to entities and properties that actually appear on the list (i.e. no 50% rule applies and entities/properties are only within the scope of the prohibitions if they are affirmatively determined to be).
Note that there may be some circumstances in which a given property is not included on the CPA list, but is owned or controlled by an entity that is on the Cuba Restricted List (“CRL”) (515.210). In such cases, U.S. persons may, under some circumstances, be able to lodge at those locations, but not engage in direct financial transactions with the entity or subentitiy that appears on the CRL list. For instance, staying at hotels owned by CRL entities appears to be permitted when reservations are made through third-party travel agents. Indeed, the advent of the CPA List appears aimed in part at addressing that “loophole” without disturbing the operation of 515.210 as it relates to entities that do not deal in accommodations.