#reverse logistics services in miami

[reidtransportationgroup]

Trends in Reverse Logistics Services: Turning Returns into Opportunities

Reverse logistics trends are changing how businesses handle product returns. Advanced technology and data analytics streamline processes, allowing for better forecasting, routing, and automation. Sustainability efforts include refurbishing, recycling, and donating goods to reduce waste. E-commerce growth demands flexible return policies, leading to investments in seamless return experiences. Collaboration across the supply chain optimizes operations and unlocks value from returned goods. These trends show a shift from seeing reverse logistics services as a cost to a strategic asset that enhances customer satisfaction, reduces environmental impact, and creates new revenue streams.

[feelingbluepolitics]

Payday lending is obscenely predatory, ruthlessly victimizing the most financially vulnerable.

"Last summer, on his final day of work at the nation’s consumer finance watchdog agency, a career economist sent colleagues a blunt memo.

"He claimed that [t]rump’s appointees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had manipulated the agency’s research process to justify altering a 2017 rule that would have sharply curtailed high-interest payday loans.

"The departing staff member, Jonathan Lanning, detailed several maneuvers by his agency’s political overseers that he considered legally risky and scientifically indefensible, including pressuring staff economists to water down their findings on payday loans and use statistical gimmicks to downplay the harm consumers would suffer if the payday restrictions were repealed. A copy of the memo was obtained by The New York Times from a current bureau employee.

"Political appointees at the bureau, led by its director, Kathleen Kraninger, have pressed forward with the [t]rump administration’s deregulatory drive despite the logistical hurdles posed by the coronavirus pandemic. This week, the agency is expected to release the revised payday rule, which will no longer require lenders to assess whether customers can afford their fees before offering a loan.

"Payday lending has been a signal battle of the [t]rump administration’s efforts to dismantle regulations. The consumer bureau’s original rule, an Obama-era initiative finalized in late 2017, was poised to be the first national regulation of payday loans. Democrats in Congress have pressed Ms. Kraninger for details about its proposed revision, with mixed success.

"'They’re moving quickly to establish this rule because they think they can take advantage of the time we don’t have to focus on them right now,' said Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat who heads the House Financial Services Committee.

..."In 20 states, payday lending is effectively banned, but in the places where it remains legal, it has thrived: There are more payday loan storefronts in America than McDonald’s restaurants. Their customers — often working poor people who cannot always secure traditional credit — collectively borrow nearly $29 billion a year and pay nearly $5 billion in fees, according to research by Jefferies, an investment bank.

"While short-term loans are intended as an emergency stopgap, many borrowers find themselves unable to repay their debts quickly, and borrow again. Half of all payday loans are extended at least nine times, piling up fees that can exceed the value of the original loan, according to research the consumer bureau published to support its original restrictions.

..."In his memo, Mr. Lanning indicated that the bureau’s leadership, bolstered by a new layer of political appointees installed by Mr. Mulvaney, had manipulated the reconsideration process to steer it toward that goal. As early as May 2018, while Mr. Mulvaney publicly claimed to be keeping an open mind about the reconsideration, bureau economists were told that Mr. Mulvaney had decided to abolish core provisions of the payday rule. They were directed to research only his preferred changes, without analyzing whether alternative approaches would yield a better outcome for consumers or industry."

"A rule cracking down on payday loans was first proposed in 2016. President Obama touted the rule as the end of predatory lending. He warned payday lenders in a speech: 'If you're making that profit by trapping hardworking Americans into a vicious cycle of debt, you've got to find a new business model."

[ohdsouthflorida]

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[seriousbusinessforhumans]

Oct. 27, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. EDT

President Trump welcomed the Japanese prime minister at Mar-a-Lago, in front of a towering arrangement of roses. The two could have met in Washington, but Trump said his private club was a more comfortable alternative. “It is, indeed, the Southern White House,” Trump said, greeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of the press in April 2018.

For Trump, there was another, hidden benefit. Money. At Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s company would get paid to host his summit.

In the next two days, as Trump and Abe talked about trade and North Korea, Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., club billed the U.S. government $13,700 for guest rooms, $16,500 for food and wine and $6,000 for the roses and other floral arrangements.

Those 2018 payments, revealed here for the first time, are part of a long-running pattern whose scope has become clear only in recent months.

Since his first month in office, Trump has used his power to direct millions from U.S. taxpayers — and from his political supporters — into his own businesses. The Washington Post has sought to compile examples of this spending through open records requests and a lawsuit.

In all, he has received at least $8.1 million from these two sources since he took office, those documents and publicly available records show.

The president brought taxpayer money to his businesses simply by bringing himself. He’s visited his hotels and clubs more than 280 times now, making them a familiar backdrop for his presidency. And in doing so, he has turned those properties into magnets for GOP events, including glitzy fundraisers for his own reelection campaign, where big donors go to see and be seen.

In the case of the government, Trump’s visits turned it into a captive customer, newly revealed documents show. What the government needed from Trump’s properties, it had to buy from Trump’s company.

So the more he went, the more he got. Since 2017, Trump’s company has charged taxpayers for hotel rooms, ballrooms, cottages, rental houses, golf carts, votive candles, floating candles, candelabras, furniture moving, resort fees, decorative palm trees, strip steak, chocolate cake, breakfast buffets, $88 bottles of wine and $1,000 worth of liquor for White House aides. And water.

Since Trump took office, his company has been paid at least $2.5 million by the U.S. government, according to documents obtained by The Post.

READ THE DOCUMENTS

Full PDF

In addition, Trump’s campaign and fundraising committee paid $5.6 million to his companies since his inauguration in January 2017. Those payments — turning campaign donations into private revenue — continued even this year, as Trump fell behind in polls and his campaign ran short of money.

The Trump Organization is not prohibited from accepting the payments. But the payments did break a key promise from 2016: Trump’s pledge that he would “completely isolate” himself from his business once in office, and put his voters’ interests above his own. “If I win, I may never see my property — I may never see these places again,” Trump said on the campaign trail then. “Because I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf. Believe me.”

There is no official total of what Trump’s company has been paid by the government and Trump’s campaign since he took office. The company and the campaign have both declined to say and did not respond to questions for this story....Without an official accounting of these payments, The Post has sought to compile its own.....The result is a never-before-seen portrait of the presidency as a revenue stream.

While Trump was publicly donating his $400,000 annual presidential salary, he was privately using his power to bring his businesses far more than that.

Taxpayer payments

The payments from taxpayers to Mar-a-Lago started in Trump’s first full month on the job, February 2017. He was meeting Abe at the club. His aides would need rooms. According to federal policy, the most they could pay was $182. But Mar-a-Lago was not charging $182.

“[There’s] a five bedroom house that three of the senior staff are staying in at $2,600 per night,” State Department employee Michael Dobbs wrote his colleagues, in an email later released to the public. “The two other Senior staffers (Bannon and Walsh) are expected to be charged $546 for their rooms.”

Within the State Department, emails show, officials did not seem inclined to fight. Federal rules allowed them to pay up to three times the normal limit — $546, in this case — with authorization. And the White House had authorized it. (Months later, Mar-a-Lago lowered the rate it charged the State Department to $396.15 per night, and provided partial refunds for some of the earlier charges above that.)

Within the White House, one former official said, some officials grumbled about holding the events at Mar-a-Lago. The events required dozens of staffers and enormous logistics, which had to be shoehorned into a private club on a narrow island full of other, nosy, paying guests. And there were some ethics concerns about the president repeatedly visiting his own properties. “It’s a hell of a lot easier to do it at the White House, which is set up for it,” the former official said...

Foreign leaders also sought the prestige of visiting the president at his vacation home because they believed it showed a close bond with the United States, two former officials said.

Trump returned, two months later, with Chinese President Xi Jinping....And Mar-a-Lago’s bills only got bigger that time, according to State Department records newly obtained by The Post. Now, there were florist bills: When Trump visited with Xi Jinping of China in April 2017, the club had started charging for flowers, and $50 per palm for decorative palm trees.

That same weekend, a group of White House staffers gathered in a Mar-a-Lago bar adorned with a large portrait of Trump wearing tennis whites. They kicked out the bartender “so they could speak confidentially,” according to an email Mar-a-Lago’s catering director sent to the State Department later.

The group then helped themselves to the contents of the bar: 26 servings of Patron and Don Julio tequila, 22 Chopin vodkas, and 6 glasses of Woodford Reserve bourbon, documents show. The bill to the government: $1,005.60, including service charge. The State Department refused to pay, emails show. But ProPublica — which first revealed this bill — reported that the White House eventually did. (The White House has not responded to questions asking how much it has paid Trump’s clubs out of its own budget).

But the most expensive — and most famous — event of the weekend was the formal dinner for 30, where Trump informed Xi about U.S. missile strikes against Syria during dessert. “The most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you’ve ever seen,” Trump later said in an interview with Fox Business Network. Taxpayers likely paid for that: Mar-a-Lago charged $7,700 for that dinner, a charge that appears to have covered Trump’s food, as well.

A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, defended Trump, saying “the President has hosted near 100 head of state/government visits since 2017” and only a fraction were at his own properties. But, last year, Trump sought to award his own company a much bigger event: the massive Group of Seven summit, which Trump gave to his Doral golf club in Miami. That event would have brought hundreds of foreign and U.S. officials to that property. Trump reversed the decision days later, retreating under public pressure — and resistance from his own aides.

His visits brought another customer: The Secret Service.

When Trump visited Mar-a-Lago for two weeks at Christmas last year, for example, the club charged the Secret Service $32,400 for guest rooms.

In addition, Trump’s adult children have brought their father’s company another $260,000 in taxpayer revenue on their own, records show, by taking solo trips to Trump properties with their own Secret Service agents in tow.

And, in some cases, Trump’s properties even got paid on days when no Trumps were present at all. In Bedminster, N.J., for instance, Trump’s club has charged the Secret Service $17,000 per month to rent a cottage from May to November — even on days when the family is absent. That’s an unusually high rate for the area, but a former Trump administration official said they had to pay it — to be ready, if Trump suddenly decided to visit.

Defense Department records recently obtained by The Post show a similar pattern of $17,000 payments to Trump’s club in Bedminster in recent years. Pentagon officials declined to answer questions about whether they have a cottage there, too.

In the past, the Trump Organization has defended its actions with two arguments. One is that — even if it wanted to — it couldn’t do all this for free.

“Legally, by law, you have to charge the federal government something, otherwise you get into all sorts of gift laws,” Eric Trump told Fox News in February. Eric Trump has not specified what laws he is referring to.

Ethics experts said they were baffled by that claim, since the agencies that the Trump Organization is known to have charged the most — the departments of Homeland Security, State and Defense — all have policies allowing them to accept gifts under some circumstances.

The Trump Organization’s second argument has been that — though it must charge the government something — it charges only enough to cover its costs. “If my father travels, they stay at our properties for free. Meaning, like, cost for housekeeping,” Eric Trump told Yahoo Finance last year. “If they were to go to a hotel across the street, they’d be charging them $500 a night, whereas, you know we charge them like 50 bucks.”

Among the hundreds of transactions reviewed by The Post, there were about two dozen payments that came close to that description: On three occasions when Trump visited his hotel in Las Vegas, for instance, the Defense Department reported paying just $74.51 per night for rooms. The Defense Department declined to comment about those payments.

But, in cases where The Post could determine what room rate was charged, the Trump Organization mostly appeared to charge the maximum allowed under federal spending rules. Or more.

At Mar-a-Lago, the government was charged rates ranging from $396.15 to $650 per room, according to documents obtained by The Post and people who have seen other, unredacted receipts. The rate for the cottage at Bedminster worked out to $566 per night. Once, when Donald Trump Jr. stopped at the Trump hotel in Vancouver, the Secret Service was charged $611 per night for his agents’ rooms. The Trump Organization has not commented on these higher charges.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime “fixer” and attorney, said he saw no sign of a discount in those rates. “That’s what anybody coming in would pay,” said Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization through the beginning of Trump’s term. This year, he was released early from federal prison, after pleading guilty to campaign-finance violations and lying to Congress.

Campaign donors

The use of campaign donations to pay Trump’s businesses is not new: During the 2016 race, his campaign paid them about $12.5 million. But that time, Trump put in far more money than he got out, contributing $66 million to his own campaign.

In the 2020 campaign, he’s done the opposite. Trump has donated a mere $8,020 to his 2020 campaign as of Oct. 14, records show. But his campaign and affiliated fundraising committees paid at least $5.6 million out to his companies. The two committees spent nearly $1 million from Sept. 1 through Oct. 14, including $97,000 for lodging at Trump hotels and nearly $800,000 for catering and ballroom rentals, records show.

RNC and campaign officials have said Trump has never ordered them to visit his clubs — but it was understood that he is more likely to attend if an event is at one of his properties.

Paul Seamus Ryan, of the nonprofit group Common Cause, said it was legal for candidates to rent things from their own business — as long as they appeared to be paying market rates and not overcharging. But, Ryan said, he had never seen anyone do it at the scale Trump has.

[cubaverdad]

Direct flights from Minnesota to Cuba are stuck at the gate, and may be for quite a while

Direct flights from Minnesota to Cuba are stuck at the gate, and may be for quite a while Sun Country plays a waiting game while President Trump's Cuba policy unfurls. By Kristen Leigh Painter Star Tribune APRIL 29, 2017 — 5:25PM Nonstop flights between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Cuba are stalled — and becoming less likely. Sun Country Airlines, which was granted the right to fly from Minnesota to two small Cuban cities last year, has asked the U.S. Department of Transportation for more time before it begins the routes. Some of its competitors who were granted other routes to Cuba last year are dropping them altogether. Too many flights with too few passengers have already started, turning the Cuban market into a financial sinkhole for airlines. Complicating matters, President Donald Trump has said he opposes looser trade and travel restrictions for Cuba, reversing the Obama administration's efforts to extend its diplomatic opening by encouraging American tourism there. None of this bodes well for a small airline like Sun Country, which relies on ease of travel for its largely leisure passenger base. But some experts say Sun Country's delay strategy may work in its favor over the long run — if the right puzzle pieces fall into place. It's been nearly a year since the DOT approved Sun Country's request to fly nonstop from Minneapolis-St. Paul to two Cuban cities: Santa Clara and Matanzas. The agency denied the airline's request to fly to Havana, the island nation's cultural and political capital, instead giving those slots to larger airlines or those offering flights from the southeastern U.S. where a large percentage of Cuban-Americans live. Sun Country originally planned to begin service last month but filed for an extension to exercise the right through December 2017. Sun Country is based at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. "We remain optimistic and continue to work through logistics for dedicated Cuba service, but our priority is ensuring an easy and enjoyable travel experience for our customers upon arrival," the airline said in a statement last week. While President Barack Obama normalized diplomatic relations, travel and trade embargos remain, making Cuba a challenging vacation destination. All U.S. citizens must prove they are visiting the communist nation for a reason other than tourism. Airlines can't sell traditional vacation packages without helping its customers fit one of the 12 approved reasons, such as humanitarian projects, family visits, journalistic activity or religious activities. Airlines ferried more passengers from the U.S. to Cuba in 2016 than in previous years. More than 576,000 people made the trek last year compared to more than 463,000 the year before, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Still, the initial bump wasn't enough to sustain all of the additional flights. "It's not an unrestricted market situation and the airline has to go through a fair amount of rigmarole to make sure you have a valid reason to travel," said Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst based in Port Washington, N.Y. "So it's both restricting the demand for Cuba and imposing significant costs on the airline." The industry's gold-rush mentality toward Cuba has subsided since last year. Many airlines, knowing there would be stiff competition for passengers, had hoped to hold on long enough for the U.S. government to lift the travel restrictions on U.S. citizens. But Trump has said he would like to tighten U.S. relations with Cuba again, though he has not yet acted. This has led many to throw in the towel. "It's natural. Some players will move out of the market," said John Brawley, owner and president of Plymouth-based Premier Travel Service, who has traveled to Cuba on multiple occasions. "It's a whole new world down there for the airline business." Several airlines have already canceled or scaled back their existing flights to Cuba. Silver Airways, which was given authority to fly to nine Cuba cities, has ended all of its flights. Frontier Airlines canceled its only flight from Miami to Havana, and American Airlines cut flights to Holguín, Santa Clara and Varadero from twice to once a day. JetBlue Airways, which was the first to fly to Cuba on Aug. 31, recently switched all of its Cuba-bound flights to smaller aircraft. "We are in a situation where airlines are reluctantly saying, 'We aren't going to invest in this forever if there's no prospect of having a regular, open market in Cuba," Mann said. "Even the big guys are pulling back." The DOT designed these flight allocations as "use it or lose," Mann said. "But with so many [airlines] handing them back, it's kind of a toothless threat." As a result, Sun Country's long game just might work. "If you haven't started yet, there's really no rush," Mann said. "I think it shows prudence on their part." The airline is hoping to push back the start date as long as possible, citing "the continued travel, trade and infrastructure constraints," in hope that policies might eventually change in their favor. Even if the travel restrictions are lifted, Sun Country would have to build relationships and contracts with the few hotel and transportation operators in those Cuban cities, and there aren't a lot of them to go around. "There's really not a lot of infrastructure for travel and hospitality there. What is there is largely consumed by European, Canadian and Latin American travelers who have been visiting for years," Mann said. "Ultimately if you are going to be an airline down there and you don't have access to rooms and hotel nights and other ground arrangements, you are just not going to be successful there." Source: Direct flights from Minnesota to Cuba are stuck at the gate - StarTribune.com - http://ift.tt/2oWUFuG via Blogger http://ift.tt/2qsqMCX

[reidtransportationgroup]

Before hiring a freight company for your delivery needs, there are several key considerations to keep in mind to ensure a smooth and successful transportation process. First, assess the freight company's reputation and track record. Look for reviews and testimonials from other customers to gauge their reliability, efficiency, and customer service. Second, consider the range of services offered by the freight company, such as transportation modes (e.g., trucking, air freight, ocean freight), special handling capabilities (e.g., temperature-sensitive cargo), and geographic coverage. Ensure that the company's services align with your specific shipment requirements. Third, inquire about pricing and transparency. Understand how the freight company calculates rates, including fees for additional services and potential surcharges. Clear pricing information will help you budget effectively and avoid unexpected costs. Lastly, verify the freight company's insurance coverage and liability policies. Ensure that your cargo will be adequately protected in case of loss, damage, or unforeseen events during transit. By considering these factors before hiring a freight company, you can make an informed decision and maximize the efficiency and reliability of your transportation logistics.

[reidtransportationgroup]

Welcome to Reid Transportation Group's official Facebook page! 🚚 Follow us for the latest updates, industry insights, and innovative solutions in transportation and logistics.

[reidtransportationgroup]

How to Find the Best Freight Brokerage Services in Jacksonville, FL

To find the right freight brokerage services in Jacksonville, FL, research online and create a list of potential brokers. Verify credentials and prioritize experience and expertise. Seek recommendations from colleagues and consider advanced technology, transparent communication, financial stability, insurance coverage, and customer reviews when making a decision.

[cubaverdad]

Yachting to Cuba — a ‘beautiful’ exception to the embargo

Yachting to Cuba — a 'beautiful' exception to the embargo BY ABEL FERNÁNDEZ abfernandez@elnuevoherald.com The 107-foot mega yacht has four cabins with private bathrooms, a jacuzzi, two jet skis, two auxiliary boats and a crew of four, including a chef. With all those amenities, the flamboyant vessel named Reflections recently departed from Key West to Havana, its second voyage to the island in less than a year. Reflections is just one of hundreds of yachts that have been sailing from the United States to Cuba since September 2015, when the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a new set of regulations approved by the former Obama administration that opened the door to passenger transportation to the island by sea. Those in the industry say the number of yacht excursions is multiplying quickly even as passenger cruise ships, which operate under the same regulations, have gotten the most attention. "Since Dec. 17, 2014, almost nothing has happened in Cuba except tourism, and much if not most of the tourism is illegal," said Coral Gables attorney Michael T. Moore, referring to the reestablishment of U.S.-Cuba relations. "By this I mean that it does not comply with the embargo exceptions," he said. "But there's one exception, and it's beautiful: yacht trips." Although Americans who visit the island can't go simply as tourists, which is prohibited under the still intact embargo, luxury trips like what Reflections offers are legal — at least for now. It is not yet known if President Donald Trump will reverse the relaxed measures imposed by the Obama administration. American travelers to Cuba, by sea or air, are required to comply with one of 12 categories approved by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which oversees embargo regulations over Cuba. Moore's firm has facilitated more than 100 yacht trips to Cuba. "Of the 12 exceptions for Americans to travel to the island, we focus on the environment," Moore said. During their stay, passengers partake in a busy itinerary, including classic car rides accompanied by a guide, dinners at restaurants known as paladares and visits to several keys where they can dive, interact with Cuban scientists who do research and collaborate with the International Society of Seakeepers, a nonprofit organization that supports educational programs and marine studies. "The Seakeepers organization is a scientific community that works together with the yacht community," said Moore, who is a member of the board. "Scientists do not act alone, they need a sponsor. We do not donate money, but we provide the yacht." Moore said that Seakeepers is not tied to the Cuban government: "It's an effort to establish relationships with the Cuban people." Moore said that most of the customers interested in traveling by boat to Cuba contact his firm, Moore & Co. "They tell us 'we want to go to Cuba', and we guide them in the process. We take them by the hand," he said. Last year, Moore & Co. handled the permit process for 55 U.S. yachts that participated in the Ernest Hemingway Fishing Tournament, an event that has been taking place since 1950, but for decades did not include U.S.-based vessels. Moore's firm also handles permits and insurance for mega yachts — vessels more than 79 feet with a crew — traveling to Cuba. But customers usually contract a concierge to charter the yacht, prepare the itinerary and handle the logistics in Cuba, such as land transportation, guided tours and other details. María Romeu, a Cuban American who for decades worked on cultural exchange events that brought Cuban artists to perform in the United States, now serves as a yacht concierge. Romeu, who worked as a yacht crew member for years, said she had been preparing for the time when sailing to the island would be allowed. "We all had the idea that door was going to open. The conditions were already there," Romeu said. Cuba has about a dozen marinas run by the state-owned company MARLIN S.A and at least one from the Gaviota group, which belongs to the military. Seven of the marinas serve as international port entries. Following the 2015 regulations, the U.S. Coast Guard inspected the island's marinas and gave the OK for U.S. vessels to make the trip. "It all opened up like a faucet," Romeu said. In October 2015, she launched VIP Yachts, a branch of Cuba Tours & Travel, a California-based travel agency that has been organizing trips to Cuba since 1999. In June 2016, Romeu organized the company's first trip to Cuba aboard a 157-foot mega yacht that sailed along the perimeter of the island — from Cayo Largo del Sur on the south central coast to Havana. "Since then, it has been one after another. We have been very successful," said Romeu, who also organized the recent trip out of Key West on Reflections, which accommodated eight passengers. Romeu already has 65 yacht reservations booked for this year, all of which will include scientific exploration. In the Canarreos Archipelago, along the southwest coast of mainland Cuba, "there is a conservation program in each key," Romeu said. "There, the clients get involved, they dive with the scientists, and they keep everything within the law." As part of her work, Romeu is responsible for making sure that everything goes as planned: guided tours, drivers, classic cars, restaurants, diving expeditions and other logistics. Seakeepers deals with the nautical part of the trip. "Logistics are complicated in Cuba," Romeu said. "There are a lot of things that can't be found on the island, so you have to take everything needed for the trip." Romeu said her customers "are very wealthy people, those within the 1 or 2 percent of the population," who expect exclusive service of the highest quality. Many have private jets and prefer to fly to the island and board the yacht there. "Very few hotels in Cuba could accommodate the level of luxury demanded by this type of customer, so yachts also serve as a hotel," Romeu said. A trip to Cuba on a luxury yacht can cost from $50,000 to $1 million, depending on the yacht, the stay and other factors, Romeu said. Just refueling a yacht like Reflections can cost about $20,000, she said. Some customers own their own yachts, and according to current regulations, they can take more passengers than the 12 passenger limit for chartered trips. In January, Romeu made an exploratory trip to Cuba with a delegation of 24 people from the International Yacht Travel Organization to show them the Cuban marinas. She also is handling the logistics for 25 yachts from the Ocean Reef Club, in Key Largo, that have a trip planned for April. Gerald Berton of Cuba Seas, an organization that offers yacht charter services to Cuba, has organized 85 trips to the island since September 2015. His company offers insurance for boats, submits all the required paperwork and ensures that OFAC regulations are complied with. "People want to know first that everything is authorized," Berton said. According to Berton, docking fees on Cuban marinas, although cheap compared to the price of U.S. marinas, provide a a good revenue for Cuba. The berth price per foot is about $1.60 at Havana's Hemingway Marina, compared to $7.50 in Miami. So a 79-foot yacht would pay at least $126 per day. Unlike other countries, Cuba does not charge entry fees for yachts, Berton said. Berton said he had prepared for 10 years for the opportunity to travel to Cuba by yacht. "It seemed natural that one day the restrictions would be lifted," he said. "We're only 90 miles away." Follow Abel Fernández on Twitter @abelfglez Source: Luxury yachts are sailing to Cuba in higher numbers | Miami Herald - http://ift.tt/2jLHigy via Blogger http://ift.tt/2jzzL13