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Airbnb has opened its site to Cuba, making it one of the first US companies to open shop on the island since the dramatic thaw in tensions between Washington and Havana last year.
空中食宿(Airbnb)向古巴开放了它的网站，成为自美国与古巴两国关系解冻以来，首家在古巴展开业务的美国企业之一。
After five decades of hostility, estrangement, and economic sanctions between the two countries, tourism to Cuba — historically dominated by Canadians and Europeans — is set to spike after President Barack Obama loosened travel restrictions in January.
在两国间经历了50年的敌对、疏远和经济制裁之后，今年1月，美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)放宽了对美国人赴古巴的旅游限制。这一措施的出台，会令古巴的外国游客出现激增。传统上去到古巴的游客以加拿大人和欧洲人为主。
Airbnb expects “significant demand” for Cuban rentals from Americans. US user searches for Cuba on Airbnb’s site have jumped 70 per cent since January, the company said.
空中食宿预计，美国人在古巴租房的需求将是巨大的。自1月以来，美国用户在其网站搜索古巴的次数已跃升了70%。
The online house-rental start-up now allows licensed American travellers to book rooms at more than 1,000 listings across Cuba, many featuring ornate colonial design and cheap prices: the average rental in Havana costs $42 per night.
目前，通过这家在线租房初创企业，得到许可的美国游客能预定遍布古巴的逾1000间房舍的房间。其中许多房间不仅拥有华丽的殖民时代设计，价格也十分低廉：哈瓦那的平均租金为每晚42美元。
“For over 50 years, Cuba has been out of reach for most Americans” said Nathan Blecharczyk, Airbnb’s co-founder. “When we founded Airbnb . . . our dream was to help create a world where you could belong anywhere . . .”
空中食宿共同创始人内森•布莱沙奇克(Nathan Blecharczyk)表示：“在超过50年的时间里，古巴对多数美国人来说一直可望而不可及。在创建空中食宿时……我们的梦想就是帮助人们打造一个处处是我家的世界……”
Airbnb’s “sharing economy” business model makes Cuba a potential sweet spot. It does not face some of the roadblocks for traditional American hotels, who would have to buy property and hire employees to operate on the island.
对于空中食宿的“分享经济”业务模式来说，古巴或将是一个绝佳的运营环境。这一模式可以避开传统美国酒店营运商去古巴开展业务会遭遇到的障碍，包括需要买地，还需要聘用员工。
Rather, the $13bn company has soared in popularity as the middleman for people who want to rent out a spare room in their home.
相比之下，市值130亿美元的空中食宿在古巴的人气已急剧上升，那些想要出租家中多余房间的人们将它视作中间人。
Still, limited internet and phone access in Cuba poses a problem for Airbnb, whose booking system operates entirely online. Only five per cent of Cubans have home access to the internet and less than a fifth have mobile phones, according to US officials.
不过，古巴上网和打电话的条件都十分有限，这对整个预订系统都在网上的空中食宿是个大问题。美国官方数据显示，可在家中上网的古巴人只占5%，而拥有移动电话的则不到五分之一。
To enter this unplugged community, Airbnb has tapped into a local network of private home-stays — casas particulares — who have dominated the Cuban tourism industry for decades and make up a sizeable income for locals in an otherwise isolated, sluggish economy.
此外，由于古巴经济开放的节奏十分缓慢，外国企业仍受制于当地监管规定及美国的制裁举措。官方统计的数字显示，自东欧剧变以来，在古巴设立的外国企业中，六成已关门大吉。
