Since the opening of Hotel Riu San Francisco in Majorca in 1953, RIU Hotels & Resorts has built its customer service around three sources of information: satisfaction surveys, direct feedback to hotel staff, and observation of guest behavior. These three channels feed concrete decisions on rooms, restaurants, entertainment and technology across the chain.
The origin of the Customer Satisfaction Index (ISC)
RIU Hotels & Resorts measures guest satisfaction through its Customer Satisfaction Index (known internally as the ISC), a survey run by an external company that provides comparable data across hotels. The results reach the company’s board of directors, which reviews the issues raised and proposes improvements.
The system was launched by Don Luis Riu Bertrán, father of Luis Riu Güell, RIU Hotels & Resorts’ current CEO, and of Carmen Riu Güell, who now chairs the group’s board of directors. In its early years, results were processed manually; the survey’s format — short and direct, designed to secure the highest possible response rate — has remained largely unchanged ever since.
Guest feedback to hotel directors and staff
The staff and directors at each Hotel RIU maintain the most direct contact with guests during their stay. The comments and concerns they receive travel in a chain: first to the hotel, then to the relevant departments within the company. This channel relies on the day-to-day knowledge of hotel staff, who experience each stay firsthand.
Direct observation: small details that become changes
Beyond surveys and comments, RIU Hotels & Resorts tracks guest behavior inside its hotels: where they choose to eat, which areas they prefer, or how they move through pool areas. These observations — such as where sauces are placed in restaurants or where the towel cart sits by the pool — are documented on an ongoing basis and end up shaping the design of hotel spaces.
Dining schedules and menus also vary depending on the predominant nationality of guests at each hotel: dinner times and menus are adapted to the habits of each source market.
Renovations: how guest suggestions reach the technical department
Renovations across RIU’s hotel portfolio serve two purposes: bringing hotels up to current standards, and incorporating changes suggested by guests, which are then applied to new builds as well. Feedback gathered ahead of each renovation reaches the GAT, RIU Hotels & Resorts’ in-house technical department responsible for space design.
Changes to RIU hotel rooms
In guest rooms, improvements have focused on rest: wider beds, higher mattresses, and bathtubs progressively replaced by showers in several hotels across the chain. Televisions have also been upgraded, with larger screens and more channel options.
Evolution of restaurants and bars
Dining rooms and bars at RIU Hotels & Resorts expanded their outdoor spaces and enlarged terraces, with updated furniture and more natural light. The food offering diversified with themed restaurants and healthy dining options, and menus were adapted to suit different nationalities.
Demand for outdoor dining near the pool led to the creation of Pepe’s Food, a bar now available at several hotels across the chain.
Entertainment and RIUFit: activities shaped by guests
RIU Hotels & Resorts reviews and updates its entertainment program every year, adding new shows based on guest suggestions. Sports and wellness activities such as yoga and aquagym are now part of RIUFit, the chain’s wellness program organized into Body & Mind, Body Workout, Dance Fit and Water Fit sessions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, RIU Hotels & Resorts also introduced technology-based activities, such as mobile games, as part of its entertainment programming.
Technology: reservations, check-in and the RIU App
Digitalization also reached the stay itself: through the RIU App, guests can book restaurant tables, request towels and complete check-in from a single platform. In 2025, the app was fully redesigned with a more intuitive interface.
If you’d like to see how these changes come together in practice, you can explore RIU Hotels & Resorts’ properties and services on the official website.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The current system traces back to the chain’s first hotel, Hotel Riu San Francisco, acquired in Majorca in 1953, and has developed continuously ever since.
It’s a survey run by an external company that measures guest satisfaction at RIU hotels. The results reach the company’s board of directors, who use them to propose improvements.
It’s the company’s in-house technical department responsible for space design during hotel renovations and construction, incorporating guest feedback gathered beforehand.
RIUFit organizes its activities into four session types: Body & Mind (yoga, meditation), Body Workout (TRX, aerobics), Dance Fit (dance classes) and Water Fit (aquagym, aquafit).
Through the RIU App, guests can book restaurant tables, request towels and complete check-in. The app was fully redesigned in 2025.
2 Comments
I would like to personally thank the management & corporate culture that accommodated myself & a guest at the Rui Santa Fe in Cabo San Lucas. We arrived on May 11, 2022 with anticipation of a wonderful holiday in the sun. The rooms were clean, the grounds & pools were sparkling & the staff were amazing. On the 17th the day before we were supposed to be leaving this sunny paradise, we both tested positive for the Covid virus, in spite of being, triple vaccinated & also double boostered in California. Unsure what was to become of us. Well, Rui had a plan to take care of us for an addtional 10 days at no additional cost to us, including delivering meals to our room & clean towels, & anything else we might need. Of course, we were not allowed out of our room, but your employees, especially Daniela & Danny at the front desk. Daniela went out of her way to get me medicine ordered from a pharmacy downtown & have it delivered to the hotel. She also dug up a book for me to read because I didn’t have enough reading material to last throught the extended, unexpected stay. Danny was helpful in many ways, big & small. I couldn’t reach out to the Southwest Vacations to cancel our return flights to Oakland becuse all the numbers & emails were not reachable. Danny sent an email on my behalf & RoGonzalez@Amstar representative , also attempted to reach anyone to enable me to be able to cancel my airline reservations. The aforementioned employees, plus many others, made this truly a vacation to remember & treasure, even with the
unexpected turn of events. I look forward to staying at another Rui Resort in my future travels & heartily recommend your properties to everyone. Thank you again for all you do.
Christine L. Pickrell
Hi Christine!
Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us and for your kind words towards the hotel workers.
We hope to see you soon on your holidays at RIU!
Kind regards,
RIU Hotels & Resorts