Luis Riu: “We’ve come to the end of a good year and are optimistic about 2025, which will see some amazing projects in Mexico, Thailand and Formentera”

21 January, 2025 New hotel, Refurbishment Share

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Today I’m going to take stock of 2024 and tell you what I expect the coming year will bring. If I had to sum up 2024 in just one sentence, I’d say that it went very well and I think 2025 will be just as good. The economic and geopolitical situation — on top of people’s dwindling savings and, possibly, the end of post-pandemic travel euphoria — led us to believe that demand could start to fall by the end of 2024, but it didn’t. What’s more, we’ve remained true to our business model and have reinvested our profits to improve quality and expand our range. Chicago, Jamaica, Punta Cana and Mauritius were the stars of 2024, and we have five major refurbishments and the opening of a new hotel in Cancun on the cards in 2025, all while making progress on other projects that will see the light of day in 2026. Which ones am I most excited about? Phuket and Formentera.

RIU closes 2024 with 6,7 million customers in its hotels, almost a 5% more than the previous year

During 2024, demand remained very high from all our main outbound markets for all destinations and this led to very good figures in all business indicators, with average rate, occupancy, stays and revenue all increasing by over 5%. As a result, we closed 2024 with a gross revenue of 4.082 million euros, which is 13% higher than the previous year. We welcomed 6,7 million guests into our hotels, recording an overall average occupancy rate of 89%. RIU now has 98 hotels, which are located in 21 countries and staffed by a total of 38.055 employees.

Lower inflation, the drop in interest rates and measures to control skyrocketing costs have also helped these figures somewhat, but it’s not all down to the improving economic situation. Over the year, we’ve continued our efforts to introduce new services and upgrade our range of establishments by investing in major refurbishments and new openings, such as our first hotel in the city of Chicago. This increase in rates and revenue is underpinned by the high-quality experience that we offer.

1.      Two openings in Jamaica: Riu Palace Aquarelle and Riu Negril

Jamaica was an extremely important location for RIU in 2024 and was the setting for two major projects.

• The Riu Palace Aquarelle was very well received when it opened in May and tour operators and customers alike are delighted.

• Later on in December, we reopened the Riu Negril after it had undergone a full refurbishment. We partially refurbished this establishment, which is located on the beachfront in the beautiful Bloody Bay, in 2015, but now we’ve completely changed the interior design and included all the new RIU services, including, of course, the RIU Party events held every Thursday in the hotel’s theatre.

2.      Sustainability and Elite Club services at the refurbished RIU hotels in Mauritius

Mauritius was also a very ambitious project. We tore down our two existing hotels to rebuild the whole complex from scratch. This allowed us to run them much more sustainably and take full advantage of the facilities shared by the Riu Turquoise and Riu Palace Mauritius, which is also the first RIU Palace hotel in the destination and offers the luxurious Elite Club service. They’re also currently RIU’s most environmentally friendly hotels as they are equipped with 2,500 solar panels that generate electricity and the most efficient facilities available on the market.

3.      Hotel Riu Plaza Chicago, a historic milestone for the chain

Nonetheless, the Riu Plaza Chicago was undoubtedly our greatest milestone in 2024. I have a soft spot for all our projects, but it’s not every day that a company builds a skyscraper in the heart of one of the world’s most important cities. It’s a huge achievement. The hotel itself is beautiful. The building has a classic façade in the Chicago School architectural style and boasts an elegant and welcoming interior in an unbeatable location.

We are very happy with how the whole project went. The city welcomed our investment and the project was completed on time without any major setbacks. It’s a completely new location for us. Spring, summer and early autumn are all great times to visit the city and its countless attractions for tourists and culture vultures, but winters are harsh. New opportunities have come up in the city, but we need to see how things go for at least a year before deciding whether we want to grow in this destination.

4.      RIU’s third hotel in New York to open soon

Work has already started on our third hotel in Manhattan. In 2016, one of my biggest dreams came true when we opened the Riu Plaza New York Times Square. Then just six years later, we opened the Riu Plaza Manhattan Times Square. Both are two large skyscrapers built by RIU in the world’s most desirable city for real estate investors. In such a competitive city, it’s extremely difficult to find the right location at a reasonable price, and that’s why I thought we wouldn’t be able to have any more hotels in New York. But, fortunately, I was wrong and construction work for the hotel Riu Plaza Broadway has begun on the corner of Broadway and 54th Street.

5.      Ambitious refurbishment of the Hotel Riu Palace Bavaro in Punta Cana

Another highlight of 2024 was the refurbishment of the Riu Palace Bavaro. Punta Cana became our first destination outside of Spain when we opened the Riu Taino back in 1991. In 2011, we converted this hotel into the Riu Palace Bavaro and this year we have once again invested in this site that has meant so much to the company over the years.

To begin with, we demolished the Riu Naiboa so we could integrate it into the new hotel, which has grown from 600 rooms to almost 1,000 and can accommodate up to 2,400 guests. A big change for a big complex: A total of 32 restaurants and bars and 11 swimming pools, as well as a special area for families and another exclusive space offering the Elite Club service, the first in a RIU Palace family hotel.

After the first few months, the financial results are already showing that it was worth the effort.

My sons Luis and Roberto, who are in charge of the Construction and Design area, played a very important role in this new hotel. Although they still have RIU’s traditional conservative influence, they’re more daring in terms of design and pay real attention to all the details of the façades, decoration and landscaping, and I think this you can see this in the result.

Formentera, Mexico and Thailand: The focus of RIU Hotels in 2025

Their influence will be even more noticeable in the Riu La Mola, as they’ve managed the project from start to finish. They’ve made all the decisions regarding equipment, design and services with all the motivation and responsibility that this entails. The hotel is currently closed for a major refurbishment and will be reopened in the summer of 2025 as a RIU Palace hotel, a premium product that is very much in keeping with the exclusive charm of the island of Formentera. I am particularly excited about this project for two reasons, firstly because Luis and Roberto are playing such an important role and secondly because I have visited this destination every summer for the past 27 years.

Hotel construction and refurbishment projects in Spain, America and Africa

We also have other projects on the way in 2025, such as:

• A complete refurbishment of the Hotel Riu Guanacaste, our first hotel in Costa Rica, which opened in 2009.
• We’ll also refurbish the beautiful Hotel Riu Jalisco on the Riviera Nayarit in Mexico.
• We will also undertake the refurbishment of the Riu Palace Tikida Agadir in Morocco.
• Before the end of the year, we’ll be closing the Riu Nautilus in Torremolinos to convert it into a RIU Palace hotel in 2026.

Building work is already underway for the new hotel Riu Ventura in Cancun, which is set to open in December 2025. This will be our sixth hotel in Cancun and our 23rd in Mexico, making this country, and particularly the Mexican Caribbean, our main international destination.

We’re also growing in Zanzibar, where work on the Riu Palace Swahili, the company’s third hotel in the destination, is well underway. Meanwhile, the construction of the hotel Riu Plaza Toronto continues and the opening in Canada’s financial capital is planned for 2026.

Target for 2026: Riu Palace Phuket, RIU’s first hotel in Thailand

Lastly, I wanted to end this round-up by mentioning the construction of our first hotel in Thailand, the hotel Riu Palace Phuket, which is set to open its doors in 2026. This country is a new destination and represents a particularly exciting opportunity. Thailand means a lot of “firsts” for us, and although this also means more work, it’s really satisfying when we eventually overcome the challenges. Everyone at RIU is very excited to be opening a hotel in this global tourist mecca.

The retirement of Carmen Riu and the growing importance of the fourth generation

In the summer of 2024, my sister Carmen retired after 26 years of working with me at the helm of the company as joint CEO. We made a great team. Together, we managed to consolidate the company’s international expansion and all areas of the business have grown under our watch. This new phase is characterised by continuity, above all thanks to the stability of the management team. This will continue as the fourth generation takes on an increasingly important role in the business.

Proudly Committed, RIU’s sustainability strategy, celebrates its first anniversary

I couldn’t possibly end this post without talking about Proudly Committed, RIU’s ambitious sustainability strategy. It has just come to the end of its first year and great progress has been made. A total of 4 million euros have been invested in community projects:

• 70% of our hotels now operate with electricity from renewable sources.
• We’ve reduced our carbon footprint by 50% in just two years.
• 80% of our hotels have sustainability certifications.
• RIU has obtained new zero food waste certifications in the Balearic Islands.

In addition, we have also taken the first steps to increase sustainability throughout the entire value chain with the approval of the new Supplier Policy, as well as in all our operations with the new Sustainability Policy.

All in all, 2024 was a very exciting year full of new adventures and milestones for the company, and there is a whole host of new challenges and projects awaiting us in 2025. As always, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who are part of the great RIU family and congratulate them on their hard work. The tourism industry is based on people, and employees drive our company forward. Technology can help us in our work, but a machine can never replace a smile. Many thanks to you all. Bring on 2025!

Fdo. Luis Riu

Etiquetas: New hotel Refurbishment