Maspalomas tourism has already generated a generation of professionals and businessmen who have been linked to tourism for more than 50 years. One of them is Rafael Expósito. "A capable and trustworthy person has incalculable value," says Luis Riu. Expósito began his activity in tourism in 1971 when the chain barely had international business.
Originally from Jaén, he began working for the chain in Mallorca before becoming one of the essential members of the hotel group in the Caribbean and southern Gran Canaria. After 1970 Rafael Expósito settled in Mallorca, where he met the patriarch of the business, Luis Riu Bertrán, through his father. He started as a busboy and progressed to assistant waiter, waiter, second maitre'd and, without leaving the chain, he became the chain's oldest employee in 2020. María Bertrán Espigulé, wife of Juan Riu Masmitjá, founders of the chain and grandparents of the current CEOs, Carmen and Luis Riu, taught him how to scrub glasses in a wooden soft drink box. In 2021 he ended his work presence at Riu as director of operations in New York.
Expósito was sent to the south of Gran Canaria for the opening of the Riu Palmeras and Riu Papayas "which was followed shortly after by the opening of the Riu Palace Maspalomas hotel", recalls Luis Riu. "It was a great challenge to move forward with that first hotel in the Riu Palace category, to demonstrate that with our experience we were capable of taking a new leap upwards," recalls Rafael Expósito.
Among the anecdotes from that time, Expósito remembers that the Riu Taino opened in the Dominican Republic, the first in this market, "with the snack menu that we brought from the Riu Palmeras in Playa del Inglés." That was a mistake and in the end a grill had to be made from a drum. Rafael Expósito remembers that "in this house there are opportunities for those of us who are workers and from my position I always continue to bet on internal talent, because effort and worth are rewarded with a good career."
Rafael Expósito started washing dishes at the Riu San Francisco hotel in Palma and, over 50 years, he gained weight in the company until he became a key player as head of Operations in Mexico, a destination where RIU has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. He also led one of the most ambitious international projects in recent years, the opening of the Riu Plaza New York Times Square, the first RIU hotel in New York. He has recently retired and we are sure that he is now enjoying this new stage to the fullest.
