In my hotel we are going to create equal economic and career opportunities for Afro-Americans

Project Developer Don Peebles

The boycott was imposed in the early 1990s after local Cuban leaders refused to give Nelson Mandela the key to the city because they thought he sympathised with Fidel Castro.

This decision has both marred racial relations and affected the black tourist dollar in Miami, which amounts to as much as $50m per year.

As part of a 20-point plan to end the boycott the City of Miami has been central in backing the construction with a loan of $10m.

Nationally, black workers are under represented in the hotel industry in both executive and managerial positions.

Glass ceiling

Don Peebles the developer of this project, told me he has had first-hand experience of this problem.

The hotel's original Art Deco features have been restored

"My father worked for 40 years as a doorman in a hotel in New York and was passed over for promotion.

"In my hotel we are going to create equal economic and career opportunities for Afro-Americans who are going to be able to apply their skills and talent without a glass ceiling," he said.

Inside the hotel, manager Jesse Stewart oversees the final adjustments to the original Art Deco features.

He too has personal experience of the glass ceiling and is excited by Don Peebles' new philosophy.

Tough times

He hopes it will be a model for how the hotel industry will treat black Americans.

"As an African-American general manager, it's an opportunity to show people what's possible.

"An opportunity to be part of history, to be part of something special, we get calls from all round the country from people wanting to come down and show their support," he said.

In general, the tourist trade has been hit hard in America.

William Talbot, the president of the Miami Tourist Bureau, said the lifting of the boycott is a message of perseverance in harsh economic times by a community that prides itself on tolerance and diversity.

"No community wants to lose customers. The Afro-American tourist is important to our destination, we have a very diverse community here and diversity is actually our strength.

"The hotel is a tangible symbol that the boycott has ended," he said.