Cuba Hostels and US Tourism

Will ordinary Cubans reap the spoils of American tourism?
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/cuba/091130/american-tourism-benefits

An unfortunate side effect of being US-owned:

The bed-and-breakfast proprietors, who operate what are known locally as "casa particulares," suffered a new setback recently, when one of the world’s leading booking websites, Hostelworld.com, informed them that their rental listings were being removed from its site. The reason? The company had been purchased by an American entity.

Hostelworld has a note on their former Cuba hostels page that explains it:

This website does not currently facilitate the booking of accommodation or other travel products situated in or offered by nationals of Cuba, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar (Burma) or North Korea in compliance with legal regulations. Please refer to our terms and conditions.

[Source]

More from the article:

And so, by making it more difficult for foreign travelers to stay in the homes of ordinary Cubans, the U.S. embargo is effectively steering tourists to hotels and resorts owned by the Cuban government.

...Cuba is the only country in the world that the U.S. government restricts Americans from visiting. Journalists and other designated categories of professionals can travel there, along with Cuban-Americans who wish to visit family members, but the restrictions have effectively blocked large-scale American tourism.

Hopefully the US Government will remove travel restrictions soon...