RIU Hotels & Resorts

RIU was founded in 1953 when Juan Riu Masmitjà and María Bertran Espigulé, together with their son Luis Riu Bertrán, acquired the Hotel San Francisco in Mallorca, which became the chain's first property. During the 1960s and 1970s, the company expanded across the Balearic Islands, and in 1977 formalised a commercial partnership agreement with the German tour operator TUI (Touristik Union International).

In 1985, RIU opened its first hotel on Gran Canaria—the Riu Palmeras—marking the beginning of its expansion beyond the Balearics. International growth followed in 1991 with the opening of the Riu Taino in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the company's first hotel in the Americas; RIU now operates 45 hotels across the continent.

In 1993, the Riu family formalised its relationship with TUI by creating the joint venture Riusa II S.A., dedicated to the operation and commercial management of all hotels under the RIU brand. In 1998, following the death of Luis Riu Bertrán, leadership passed to his children Carmen Riu Güell and Luis Riu Güell, who led the company jointly for more than two decades.

In 2010, RIU launched its urban hotel brand, Riu Plaza, with the opening of its first property in Panama City. The Hotel Riu Plaza Berlin, inaugurated in 2015, was the brand's first hotel in Europe. Further Riu Plaza properties subsequently opened in major cities, including New York City in 2016 and Madrid in 2019. In 2016, the chain also expanded into Asia with the inauguration of the Riu Sri Lanka in Ahungalla.

Over the following decade RIU expanded its sustainability commitments, culminating in 2024 with the launch of the Proudly Committed strategy, which set targets for the 2024–2026 period covering emissions reduction, energy efficiency, waste management and environmental certification across the hotel network.

RIU operates primarily in sun-and-beach resort destinations. Since 2010 it has also developed a portfolio of urban hotels under the Riu Plaza brand.

In Europe, the chain has a strong presence in Spain, particularly in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, as well as resort and city hotels on the Iberian Peninsula. Riu Plaza properties operate in Madrid, Berlin, Dublin and London, where the Riu Plaza London Victoria opened in 2023 as the company's first hotel in the United Kingdom.

In the Americas, RIU combines beach resorts in Mexico and across the Caribbean—including the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas—with urban hotels in Panama City, Guadalajara, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and New York City. In September 2025 the company opened the Riu Plaza Toronto, its first hotel in Canada.

In Africa, in addition to properties in Morocco, Senegal and Zanzibar, RIU operates six hotels in Cape Verde—three on the island of Sal and three on Boa Vista—comprising approximately 4,649 rooms. In 2024 those properties welcomed around 389,000 guests and generated revenue of 26.6 billion Cape Verdean escudos, with a workforce of more than 3,300 people, the majority of whom were Cape Verdean nationals.