June 16, 2020
The RIU chain launches RIU Protect, a new healthcare service for its customers
Hotels & Resorts
- With this new service, which was developed with insurance support from AXA XL, a division of AXA, and the guidance of Mercer Marsh Benefits, RIU is offering medical care to its guests, including any affected by possible COVID-19 infection during their holidays
- RIU launches an initiative that will include this service at no charge to everyone who makes a reservation from 15 June until the end of 2020
The RIU Hotels & Resorts chain presents RIU Protect, a new service for its customers that provides medical assistance to its guests, including any affected by COVID-19 infection during their holidays. This is a unique and differentiating product, designed with insurance support from AXA XL and the guidance of Mercer Marsh Benefits, with which the hotel chain wants to offer extra safety to its customers when they take their holiday trips during this crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accessing the service will be very easy. When booking with RIU through its website or call center, the customer will automatically receive this service. This measure will be in force for bookings made starting on 15 June.
“In these uncertain times, we want to offer our customers all the safety and peace of mind we can. So, when they make their bookings, they are given the option to cancel or make changes at no charge up to 30 April 2021. Once in the hotel, the operation will be guided by the RIU Post-COVID Manual for the hotel, which includes 17 safety and hygiene protocols. And now, we are also adding this new service to offer them extra safety and peace of mind, as they will know that if faced with infection by COVID-19 or any other medical condition, they will also receive attention and care at no additional cost to them”, states Luis Riu, CEO of RIU Hotels & Resorts.
José Ramón Morales, Country Leader of AXA XL in Iberia remarked: “We have made a decisive commitment to the hotel sector by providing our extensive experience and track record in insurance solutions specific to the sector, mainly involving its asset risks and enormous civil liabilities, in both Spain and internationally. At this very unusual time, we are strengthening our commitment to RIU by covering the hotel group’s obligations to its customers through RIU Protect”.
The service offered by RIU will cover, among other contingencies, medical attention, surgery, hospitalization and emergency medical transport, with up to 30,000 euros per guest; it will also cover extensions of hotel stays of up to 14 nights for medical reasons for all guests in the booking, as well as medical repatriation of the guest and return tickets for the other guests in the booking for the same reason.
RIU Hotels & Resorts had to close its 99 hotels in 19 countries in the month of March due to the health emergency. The chain has already started its recovery process with the opening of hotels in Berlin, Guadalajara (Mexico), Miami, Cancun and Bulgaria. It foresees new openings in coming weeks in Spain, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Costa Rica.
Accessing the service will be very easy. When booking with RIU through its website or call center, the customer will automatically receive this service. This measure will be in force for bookings made starting on 15 June.
“In these uncertain times, we want to offer our customers all the safety and peace of mind we can. So, when they make their bookings, they are given the option to cancel or make changes at no charge up to 30 April 2021. Once in the hotel, the operation will be guided by the RIU Post-COVID Manual for the hotel, which includes 17 safety and hygiene protocols. And now, we are also adding this new service to offer them extra safety and peace of mind, as they will know that if faced with infection by COVID-19 or any other medical condition, they will also receive attention and care at no additional cost to them”, states Luis Riu, CEO of RIU Hotels & Resorts.
José Ramón Morales, Country Leader of AXA XL in Iberia remarked: “We have made a decisive commitment to the hotel sector by providing our extensive experience and track record in insurance solutions specific to the sector, mainly involving its asset risks and enormous civil liabilities, in both Spain and internationally. At this very unusual time, we are strengthening our commitment to RIU by covering the hotel group’s obligations to its customers through RIU Protect”.
The service offered by RIU will cover, among other contingencies, medical attention, surgery, hospitalization and emergency medical transport, with up to 30,000 euros per guest; it will also cover extensions of hotel stays of up to 14 nights for medical reasons for all guests in the booking, as well as medical repatriation of the guest and return tickets for the other guests in the booking for the same reason.
RIU Hotels & Resorts had to close its 99 hotels in 19 countries in the month of March due to the health emergency. The chain has already started its recovery process with the opening of hotels in Berlin, Guadalajara (Mexico), Miami, Cancun and Bulgaria. It foresees new openings in coming weeks in Spain, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Costa Rica.
About RIU Hotels & Resorts
The international RIU chain was founded in Mallorca by the Riu family in 1953 as a small holiday firm and is still owned by the family's third generation. The company specialises in holiday resorts and over 74% of its establishments offer its acclaimed All Inclusive by RIU service. With the inauguration of its first city hotel in 2010, RIU is expanding its range of products with its own line of city hotels called Riu Plaza. RIU Hotels & Resorts now has 98 hotels in 21 countries. In 2024, the chain welcomed 6,7 million guests and provided jobs for a total of 38.055 employees. RIU is currently the world's 40th ranked chain, one of the Caribbean's most popular, and the fourth largest in Spain in number of rooms.
