Lluís Riu Bertran

Luis Riu Bertrán (20 March 1933 – 7 April 1998) was a Spanish hotelier and businessman who co-founded the RIU Hotels & Resorts chain with 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.

Starting in the late 1970s, Riu established an official business partnership with German tour operator TUI which his family had maintained for many years. The two companies established Riu Hotels S.A. in 1977 to operate a hotel-development business and a property-investment firm, with 51% of the shares owned by the Riu family and 49% owned by TUI. The two companies established RIUSA II, S.A. in 1993 as their main hotel management company, which operates RIU hotels around the world as a joint venture with equal ownership. 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 (1908–1996) and Maria Bertrán Espigulé.

Career In 1953, Riu and his father bought the Hotel San Francisco at Playa de Palma, Mallorca. The establishment became the first hotel in what would later grow into the RIU chain. During his 1954 trip to Germany, he met Doktor Tigges-Fahrten whom he partnered with to create Mallorca travel packages that combined air travel and hotel accommodations for German vacationers.

Honours In 1993, the Generalitat de Catalunya awarded Riu Bertrán the Creu de Sant Jordi. At that time the RIU group operated 62 hotels with a total of 34,770 beds.

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.