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Introducing our new sustainability project: Circular Hotels

One of the best things about holidays is that we leave behind the stress of planning our weekly meals and instead enjoy the thousands of options offered by hotel buffet restaurants. At RIU we understand this, which is why we recommend that you don’t miss out on the dishes available at our establishments in Mallorca, a reflection of the best flavours the island has to offer. Have you ever wondered where the food we use in our recipes comes from and where the leftovers go? Keep reading, because today we’ll tell you!

The buffet at the Riu San Francisco: a very special restaurant

It has been almost 70 years since the opening of the chain’s first hotel in Playa de Palma, the Riu San Francisco. During this time, its facilities have undergone several upgrades –including a complete refurbishment– that have allowed us to update the services we offer at the hotel. Now, in addition to free WiFi, a wellness centre and new suites, you can enjoy a whole new experience, this time related to gastronomy: the sustainable buffet.

Whenever you are enjoying your favourite buffet options, you can find out where the ingredients came from in just a few seconds by scanning the QR codes on the restaurant’s signs. And there’s more! You will also be able to see who has grown them, the kilos of organic matter we have recovered and composted, the CO2 emissions avoided and the green energy produced. And how do we know all this? Thanks to the Circular Hotels project.

Circular Hotels: we are what we eat

One thing we have always kept in mind is the value of people, and Circular Hotels is proof of this. The project works because the hotel chains contribute their organic waste, the companies WDNA and Tirme measure it and transform it into compost, respectively, and the local farmers Agromallorca and Son March use the compost to grow the products that we subsequently purchase and offer in our hotels. And, of course, you, as a diner, also contribute to the success of this collaborative work every time you enjoy our buffets in Mallorca.

Circular Hotels is a project that reflects other RIU values such as the importance of having environmental management measures that allow us to continue combating climate change or working on initiatives that support the local economy. Lola Trián, director of sustainability, talks about this and about the future of the initiative: “This project contributes enormously to sustainability as well as the local economy, and our intention is that in the future it will also be adopted in the other hotel buffets in Mallorca and not just the one at the Riu San Francisco. As this is a pilot experience, we will first have to analyse the degree of satisfaction to be able to move forward, but we would like it to continue to grow and incorporate changes until we achieve a circular business model. We are working towards our goal of replicating this model in other destinations with the support of local partners. This is the case in Tenerife, where we have another alliance that is working on a similar pilot project.”

The objective: to transition to a circular business model.

Circular Hotels promotes the circular economy by serving fruits and vegetables that were once organic waste and that now, after undergoing this collaborative process, have been transformed into new resources. The project promotes social, environmental and economic balance by avoiding environmental pollution, creating green jobs, reducing the use of natural and energy resources and furthering the digitalisation of the hotel industry. Through Circular Hotels, we are all part of this transformation!

If you want to discover this sustainable initiative first hand, you can do so by booking your stay at the Hotel Riu San Francisco. In addition, all the RIU hotels in Playa de Palma (Hotel Riu Bravo, Riu Concordia, Riu Festival and Riu Playa Park) are taking part in the project by measuring the amount of organic waste they generate and transferring the information to a platform managed by Tirme and the hoteliers. So if you decide to stay at one of these hotels, you will also be contributing to caring for the environment, reducing waste and promoting the local economy. Our buffet doors are open and we’re waiting for you!