Luis Riu Bertrán


Luis Riu Bertrán was a Spanish hotelier and businessman, best known as co-founder of the RIU Hotels & Resorts chain alongside his father, Juan Riu Masmitjà. In 1953 the family acquired the Hotel San Francisco in Playa de Palma, Mallorca, which became the first hotel of the future RIU group. The following year they worked with the German travel agency Doktor Tigges-Fahrten to organize what contemporary sources describe as Spain’s first charter flight aimed specifically at package tourism, linking air transport with hotel accommodation for middle-class German travellers.
From the late 1970s onwards, Luis Riu helped to formalize the long-running commercial relationship between the Riu family and the German tour operator TUI. In 1977 both parties set up Riu Hotels S.A. as a joint hotel-development and property-investment company, with 51% of the share capital held by the Riu family and 49% by TUI. In 1993, RIU and TUI created the centralized hotel-management company RIUSA II, S.A., owned 50:50 by both partners, to operate RIU-branded hotels worldwide. At the time of his death in 1998, the RIU group managed 62 hotels, and in 1993 he received the Creu de Sant Jordi from the Government of Catalonia.

Early life and family

Riu Bertrán was born on 20 March 1933 in Olot, Girona, to Juan Riu Masmitjà and Maria Bertrán Espigulé. In 1950, the family emigrated from Catalonia to Venezuela. There, in Barquisimeto, he and his father gained their first experience running a small hotel, an endeavor that would lay the groundwork for their future. Upon returning to Spain, they would channel this experience into founding their hotel empire in Mallorca. In 1954, Riu married Pilar Güell Boada.

Career

In 1953, Riu and his father bought the Hotel San Francisco at Playa de Palma, Mallorca. The establishment, a modest seaside property at the time, became the first hotel in what would later grow into the RIU chain. During a trip to Germany in 1954 he met Hubert Tigges of Doktor Tigges-Fahrten; working with that tour operator, the family organized what is described as Spain’s first charter flight combining air transport and hotel stays for middle-class German travellers, an early example of the package holiday model that would later become widespread in Spain.
As the number of hotels increased, the company gathered its administrative and commercial functions at the Riu Centre in Playa de Palma, which became the group’s headquarters in 1982. In 1993, RIU and TUI set up the centralized management company RIUSA II, S.A., conceived as a 50:50 joint venture to operate RIU-branded hotels. By 1996, Riu Bertrán was serving as managing director, while a gradual generational transition placed his son Luis Riu Güell as group president.

Alliance with TUI

RIU’s commercial ties with the Tigges travel agency gradually led to a broader collaboration with the German tour operator TUI. In 1977 that relationship was formalized through the creation of Riu Hotels S.A. as a hotel-development and property-investment company whose stated purpose was the construction and ownership of resort hotels. The share capital was divided so that 51% remained with the Riu family and 49% was held by TUI.
In 1993 the partners separated the ownership of assets from day-to-day hotel operations by creating RIUSA II,, S.A, a 50:50 joint venture charged with managing and operating RIU-branded hotels worldwide; this operational vehicle complemented the role of Riu Hotels S.A. as a development and property-holding company. Later transactions preserved that basic division of functions. In 2021, TUI sold its 49% stake in the Riu Hotels property company to the Riu Group, giving the Riu family full control of the real-estate arm while the 50:50 operational joint venture continued to manage the hotels.

Philanthropy

Outside the hotel business, Riu Bertrán promoted charitable activities linked to social care. On 23 December of the year 1988 he founded the Fundació Joan Riu in Girona, a non-profit organization devoted to the care and education of people with severe intellectual disabilities. The related school and residential centre had begun operating in 1980 and was later integrated into the foundation’s structure.

Honours

In 1993, the Generalitat de Catalunya awarded Riu Bertrán the Creu de Sant Jordi.

Death and legacy

Riu Bertrán died of cancer in Palma de Mallorca on 7 April 1998, at the age of 65. At that time the RIU group operated 62 hotels with a total of 34,770 beds. Management of the company passed to his children Carmen Riu Güell and Luis Riu Güell, who became co-chief executives.
A public square in the Platja de Palma area of Palma is named Plaça de Joan i Lluís Riu, in honour of hoteliers Joan Riu Masmitjà and his son Lluís Riu Bertran, founders of RIU Hotels & Resorts. In December 2001 the city inaugurated in this square the sculpture Benvingut, by Jaume Mir, as a tribute to early tourism pioneers.