Headed to Cuba for Business? ¡Cuidado!

Headed to Cuba for Business? ¡Cuidado!
RYAN MCMUNN - CONTRIBUTOR
Founder & CEO BRIC Language Systems
DECEMBER 02, 2015

I went to Cuba in September on a research/business trip, in hopes of
finding a Spanish language partner school for my language program. But I
never got to enjoy the country's glorious beaches, its picturesque old
Chevys, its friendly, exuberant people.

Instead, I got fleeced. And I ended up fleeing my Havana hotel at 4:30
in the morning, ignobly exiting down a fire escape, with the princely
sum of 25 cents in my pocket.

Don't let this happen to you! If you too have a business trip in mind
that involves Cuba, a country with which the United States is rapidly
normalizing relations -- and business deals -- take precautions. Here
are some tips on how not to repeat my own bad experience in this island
nation.

1. Don't listen to your bank.
You can't use U.S. credit or debit cards in Cuba, no matter what your
bank tells you. Your bank will say, "You have a Visa debit card, and it
works everywhere." It doesn't. Anywhere. Instead, bring enough euros or
Canadian dollars to survive your stay and make it to your meetings.
Don't bring U.S. dollars unless you want to pay the 10 percent penalty
Cuba imposes for an exchange. Tip: When conducting business in Cuba, buy
Euros or Canadian dollars, which don't have the fee.

2. Don't trust your hotel.
We stayed at a Spanish hotel that's part of a chain. We thought we had
prepaid for the hotel. But, upon our arrival, the hotel demanded that we
pay 1,250 euros. We were shocked (and unprepared: We had just 1,000
euros on us). So, we spent the morning calling a friend's aunt to see if
we could stay with her. We tried the bank. And we Googled other options
(on Cuba's ultra slow Internet).

Then we went to the hotel bar, and charged to the room drinks we
couldn't actually pay for, because we needed to make a sound decision.
Ultimately, we gave the bar 100 euros and made the rest up with our
reserve U.S. dollars. From that point on, we had almost no money. Tip:
When conducting business in Cuba, bring more money than you think you'll
need. You'll almost certainly need it.

3. Trust but verify.
We were eating lunch when the owner of the restaurant came by. He showed
us pictures of his daughters. I shared with him that our family had a
pub in Ireland. We were delighted to have a new friend. Then I went to
pay the tab, and he accompanied me. I had my 50 peso bill on the
counter, but the clerk said he couldn't accept that amount for our 4
peso tab, and he didn't have change.

The "owner" we had just befriended then said, "Senior, senior, your
money, it is no good here." And I thought, "That's nice. He's going to
buy us dinner."

I was wrong. The man grabbed the 50 peso bill off the counter and ran
out the front door, not even pausing to pick up the pictures of his
daughters. Why? Because they weren't his daughters, he wasn't the owner
and I had trusted without verification. Tip: When conducting business in
Cuba, remember: If it's too good to be true, it probably is.

4. Don't count on the U.S. embassy.
Despite the U.S. embassy's prominent location and impressive façade, its
personnel are not much help. We were in dire straits; we had 50 pesos
left. With barely enough to pay for a cab to the airport, we went to the
embassy seeking help. The Marine guard there was very friendly. However,
all he could help us with was the location of a cheap bottle of rum and
a cooked rabbit. We took his advice: Wrong move again. Tip: When
conducting business in Cuba: Don't drink rum and eat rabbit; neither
tastes good and both lead to bad decisions.

5. Find the good people.
Don't let my first four points cause you to not trust the locals. There
is plenty to love about Cuba. I was walking through a park, for
instance, when two men shouted out, "Senior, senior! No, no!" But I
walked right past them, thinking "Those guys are annoying." Then I hit
my head. There was buzzing, then bees. I freaked out!

I had literally walked into a hornet's nest. And it hurt. I ran down the
street screaming, "Ai yai yai!" until a bartender ran out and started
beating me with an ice bat to get the bees off.

It worked. I bought him a beer. I should have listened to the men on the
bench, and thank God for Carlos (the bartender). Tip: When conducting
business in Cuba, remember: Like anywhere, there are good people and bad
people.

When you find the good people, stick by them, and they will stick by
you. I myself keep in touch with Carlos; he is a great man, one of the
"good people." When my language business is ready to open up shop in
Cuba, he will be instrumental.

6. Figure out the currency beforehand.
it's confusing, but there are two categories: the CUC and CUP.
Technically, one is for foreigners, and the other is for locals. Prices
are shown in both currencies and tend to match up. That said, we were
refused taxi service to the airport (after having fled the hotel)
because we tried to pay with CUP (after realizing that the exchange rate
says 1 CUC = .37 CUP, I understood why).

We essentially tried to pay a $50 taxi bill with $18.50. Tip: When
conducting business in Cuba: Get a good CFO and find a local accounting
company in Havana. This is hard to do, and to be honest, I'm still
trying to figure out the currency. But here is a good starting point.

7. Internet: Don't expect a lot.
Get ready to hate your computer. I lived in China for eight years, and
China is the dark kingdom when it comes to the Internet. But I wasn't as
frustrated there as I was in Cuba. Of course, in China I knew what was
happening, but only partly. In Cuba, however, it was just . . . so . . .
slow. On top of that, the only place with Internet connectivity was the
hotel where we stayed. At least in China, you could get service in
almost any bar, restaurant or hotel you walked into. Tip: When
conducting business in Cuba: Print out everything you need before you go.

8. Be prepared to barter.
Always. Barter for cabs, meals, beers, rickshaws, whatever. Everyone
barters in Cuba, and you need to be ruthless at it. We drove our taxi
rides down from 15 CUC to 7 CUC in four days. So, bartering is a good
skill to have, and honing it on the streets will set you up for success
in the boardroom, which may be little more than just a dirty closet. So,
get ready. Tip: When conducting business in Cuba: do what I just said.

¡Buen viaje!
In sum, Cuba is an unbelievable place. Enjoy the history, the beaches
and the ride . . . especially the kind you get in a 1957 Chevy
convertible. Just be careful, and aware. Cuba is not Miami, Key West or
Mexico. It is a different place and deserves both your respect -- and
your business.

Our mistake was, we weren't aware and had to sneak out of our hotel at
4:30 a.m. We also failed to pay $250 in incidentals, got robbed at the
airport and left with just 25 cents to our name. So, don't be us. Be
smart, respectful and attentive; and you will be treated the same way.

Source: Headed to Cuba for Business? ¡Cuidado! -
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/252833