Austria
- Luis Riu Güell's sons have gradually been taking on more responsibility in the Group's expansion, as well as in the chain’s construction and design departments
- The brothers are also leading the way in RIU's commitment to energy self-supply, with a total investment of xx million euros in several projects
Luis Riu Rodríguez and Roberto Riu Rodríguez, the sons of Luis Riu Güell and members of the fourth generation of the Riu family, have played an important role at the chain for several years, leading expansion projects and analysing investment opportunities, as well as working in the RIU Group's Technical Advice Office (GAT), which is responsible for the chain’s major refurbishment projects and designing, constructing and fitting out all of the company’s new hotels. Having initially carried out this task alongside their father, they’re now flying solo and each of the brothers oversees certain regions and projects.
In addition, they both promote and manage RIU's strategic decarbonisation project based on self-supply. Since the start of this initiative, they have analysed and supervised the design and installation of 24 photovoltaic projects in 23 hotels, which have involved an investment of more than 8.6 million and a total of 7,375 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided.
RIU's business model is based on supervising each project down to the very last detail so the chain can control the services and products that it offers to its guests. This means that a family member leads the whole process, from deciding on the location of an establishment to overseeing the design, construction, facilities and operation of a hotel. That’s why the work of both brothers plays a key role in ensuring the continuity of this business model now that the RIU Group has undertaken the generational handover.
Luis Riu Rodríguez is Luis Riu Güell’s eldest son. He studied economics at the University of Kent in the UK and also holds a master’s degree in economics from the UCSB in California and another master’s degree in marketing from the EAE in Barcelona. Prior to joining RIU, he worked in investment banking with BBVA in London. At RIU, he has experience in both beach and city destinations such as Miami and New York, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Canary Islands, where he also worked on the refurbishment of the Riu Buenavista. Luis also leads the RIU Party project, the chain’s innovative entertainment concept launched in Mexico in 2018 that he is now taking to many other destinations both in Spain and further afield.
Roberto Riu Rodríguez is Luis Riu Güell’s youngest son. He studied a bachelor’s degree in business administration at IQS in Barcelona with a six-month exchange in Montreal (Canada), and he also holds a master's degree in negotiation from the IESEG School of Management in Paris. He moved to the Netherlands for a year to work for TUI Netherlands. He has undertaken internships in various hotel and head office departments. He completed his training in operations in Jamaica and Miami and learnt about construction projects with the refurbishment of the Riu Palace Jandia.
