Online home-rental service Airbnb has begun letting Americans book lodgings in Cuba. The move is being called the most significant U.S. business venture since the declaration of detente between the two countries late last year.

Airbnb searches for "Cuba" now list more than 1,000 properties, with 40 percent in Havana and the rest in tourist destinations like Cienfuegos on the southern coast, said the Huffington Post. The company has been sending personnel to Cuba to sign up home owners. Airbnb’s website and mobile app let consumers book rooms in more than one million private homes worldwide.

"We believe that Cuba could become one of Airbnb’s biggest markets in Latin America," said Kay Kuehne, regional director, in the Huffington Post. "We are actually plugging into an existing culture of micro-enterprise in Cuba. The hosts in Cuba have been doing for decades what we just started doing seven years ago."

Cuba’s bed and breakfast-style lodgings are alternatives to its blasé state-run hotels. They range from small apartments to large beach houses with gourmet food and maid service. Broadening their availability is viewed as a solid business move.

"Airbnb’s momentous expansion into Cuba represents the first move by a major American company to fully seize the opportunities presented by both our new Cuba policy and the island’s burgeoning entrepreneurial sector," said Ric Herrero, executive director of CubaNow in the Huffington Post. The Cuban-American group lobbies for closer ties between the two nations.

Airbnb is among several companies that have made business moves to Cuba. In February, New Jersey-based IDT Corp. and Cuban state telecoms firm ETECSA agreed to connect phone calls from the United States directly to Cuba, said the Huffington Post. In the past, calls were routed through European countries.

Netflix and MasterCard have also unblocked their services in Cuba. But not many Cubans have Internet connections that are fast enough to stream Netflix or process credit cards..

For now, Airbnb’s Cuba listing will only be available to U.S. travelers visiting under one of 12 U.S.-government approved categories of legal travel, ranging from professional research to religious activities.

One drawback to booking private lodging in Cuba has been is the country’s low rate of Internet penetration. Airbnb will make it easier. Still, most owners will have to use expensive state-run Internet centers or hotel lobbies to check reservations. And since much of the international banking system is unavailable to Cubans due to U.S. sanctions, owners would have to depend on other people to receive payments from Airbnb in non-U.S. bank accounts, said the Huffington Post.