Riôtel, a major player in Gaspésie's hotel industry
Although the Rioux family of Matane created the Riôtel brand several years after entering the hotel business, its Gaspésie portfolio now comprises five upscale properties: two in Matane and one each in Percé, Bonaventure and Carleton-sur-Mer. The hotels also offer quality dining, along with convention and meeting centres in Matane and Carleton. As an added benefit, every property is on the waterfront with an incomparable view.
Founder Bertrand Rioux was a prominent real-estate developer and merchant in Matane and the surrounding region from the 1950s onward. The story began in Murdochville with a furniture store, followed by a second in Matane in 1961, when the family settled there. This was only the prelude to Rioux’s long and successful career in construction, real estate and hospitality, among other fields. He even made a notable foray into music retail and radio in the 1970s.
His first real experience in the hotel business came in Florida in 1978 and 1979. He had moved his family there in 1976 so that everyone could learn English, and then purchased two motels, the Flamingo and the Vagabond, in Treasure Island. His wife, Mariette, and eldest son, François, who was still a student, took charge of the two properties. The group sold them a few years ago.
As its Québec operations continued to grow, Groupe Rioux and its partners acquired Auberge des Gouverneurs in Matane in 1984. The following year, François returned from Florida with a university degree in accounting and became the group’s controller. Further hotel projects followed, including renovations to the Matane property and the addition of a convention centre, then the acquisition of Monaco des Monts in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.
In 1992, Groupe Rioux became sole owner of the hotel division and set out to expand it across the region. Château Blanc de Bonaventure and Auberge de la Montagne de Percé joined the portfolio in 1994. In 1995, a new pavilion was added to Hôtel de Matane to meet growing demand for accommodation.
Faced with this rapid expansion and wishing to unify the service offering across their hotels, Bertrand and François Rioux created the RIÔTEL brand and launched a major five-year renovation programme covering every property. In 2003, Percé’s largest hotel complex, at the foot of Côte Surprise, became Riôtel Percé. From 2013 to 2019, the group carried out major renovations in Matane, Percé and Bonaventure to move those hotels upmarket. The portfolio was completed in 2024 with the acquisition of Hostellerie Baie-Bleue in Carleton-sur-Mer.
As Riôtel celebrated its 28th anniversary in 2025, vice-president of sales and marketing Lucie Dumas (pictured) said the company had not finished growing. Management’s development plan already includes at least one new hotel in Rimouski, a construction project discussed for a few years that is expected to proceed in 2026–2027 if all goes well. Riôtel is also working on a hotel project in Québec, although no firm timetable has yet been set.
Alongside François, who has served as group president since his father’s death in 2005, two third-generation family members hold positions there. Marie-Frédérik, a McGill graduate in administration, heads Riôtel Matane, while her brother Charles-Alexandre, who studied civil engineering, entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Notre-Dame in the United States, serves as director of strategy and operations.
The five Riôtel hotels in Gaspésie employ as many as 300 people in peak season. The company’s hotel division also gives approximately $100,000 a year to social and humanitarian causes, with particular emphasis on education, the environment, health and entrepreneurship.
The Bonaventure chapter ends in October 2025
As the Rimouski project appears increasingly close to being announced for early 2026, RIÔTEL management decided to end operations at Riôtel Bonaventure permanently in mid-October 2025. The board said the decision formed part of a strategic realignment intended to focus the group’s development on its resort-style hotels in Matane, Percé and Carleton, which offer complementary amenities and substantial convention and meeting facilities.
Employees affected by the decision are expected to be reassigned to the other hotels for the 2026 peak season, with accommodation provided during that period, RIÔTEL management said.
At present, nothing has been announced regarding the future of the Bonaventure establishment, which had been an established presence since 1906 and which RIÔTEL had operated since 1994.
RIÔTEL
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250, avenue du Phare Est
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