Resuinsa Group celebrates its centenary, while Resuinsa marks 50 years of specialisation in the hospitality industry. A journey that has evolved alongside the professionalisation of the sector, showing how textiles have gone from being a basic supply to encompassing design, technology, sustainability and operational expertise.
Five pesetas, a steamship called Esperanza bound for Barcelona, and a trade learned at just 14 years old: this is where the story begins. Mateo Martí returned to his home town of Montaverner to set up a small textile workshop. That family business, founded in 1926, is now Resuinsa Group, which is celebrating its centenary as Resuinsa marks half a century dedicated exclusively to the hospitality industry.
“Reaching one hundred years is only possible when there was, from the outset, a vision to build something with purpose. Those who came after my grandfather recognised the potential of the hospitality industry when others had not even considered it. They laid the foundations, looked beyond the immediate horizon and, above all, stayed the course with hard work and consistency,” says Félix Martí Sempere, CEO of Resuinsa.
50 years anticipating the needs of hotels
The creation of Resuinsa came in response to a decisive transformation within the industry. At a time when hospitality establishments commonly used products designed for domestic settings, the company chose to develop textiles specifically conceived for professional hospitality. Bed linen, towels and table linen needed to withstand intensive use and industrial laundering processes, while meeting the quality standards of an industry undergoing rapid professionalisation.
This specialisation was underpinned by industrial expertise built up over generations. Integrating the different stages of the process, from spinning to manufacturing, provided an in-depth understanding of how raw materials, textile constructions and finishes influence the final performance of each item. This technical know-how remains essential today in adapting products to the operations, positioning and specific requirements of each establishment.
As the Spanish hospitality industry grew and expanded internationally, Resuinsa evolved alongside its customers. Supporting hotel groups as they entered new destinations meant adapting to different hospitality cultures, operating models and approaches to service. This exchange of knowledge made it possible to transfer insights between markets and develop specific solutions for city hotels, resorts, boutique hotels and luxury establishments.
Textiles also began to play a broader role within hotels. Beyond meeting technical requirements, they became increasingly integrated into the architecture, interior design and identity of each project. The customisation of designs, colours, embroidery and finishes transformed bed linen, bathroom textiles and table linen into elements capable of reinforcing the character of an establishment and creating a more coherent guest experience.
Over the past decade, innovation has accompanied this evolution. The incorporation of RFID technology into textiles has made it possible to identify individual items and track their journey between the hotel and the laundry, bringing greater traceability to textile management. At the same time, the circular economy projects developed by Resuinsa have given a new useful life to textiles that have reached the end of their cycle, turning waste into resources and reintroducing some of their post-consumer fibres into new products. These are two tangible responses to challenges that are already firmly on the industry’s agenda: gaining a better understanding of the textile life cycle and finding more sustainable alternatives by giving materials new lives.
The double anniversary therefore celebrates much more than the longevity of a family business. It encapsulates a way of growing alongside the hospitality industry: preserving industrial expertise, listening to customers’ needs and applying innovation wherever it can provide a genuine solution. Since that journey aboard the Esperanza, Resuinsa has remained on the same course: anticipating what hotels will need to keep moving forward.
