With the easing of the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, I contacted my friend Curt Strand in Aspen, Colorado to recall the creation of the Havana Hilton Hotel which opened in 1959. Curt was president of Hilton International from 1968 until 1986. In response to my request, he wrote the following:
Conventional wisdom says that high-end resort hotels should be particularly vulnerable to economic recessions because of the discretionary nature of the expenditure.
