ILUNION Hotels presents DEIB Coach
Listening to transform: how ILUNION Hotels boosts well-being with this innovative role
November 27, 2025
The hotel company introduces a pioneering new role in the sector, focusing on inclusion, emotional well-being, and active listening within teams.
At a time when emotional well-being and mental health are gaining prominence in the workplace, ILUNION Hotels—a company belonging to Grupo Social ONCE—reinforces its commitment to people through an innovative figure: the DEIB Coach. This new profile, centered on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, has the mission to accompany teams through active listening, with a professionalized methodology integrated into the day-to-day operations of each hotel.
More than a one-off initiative, the DEIB Coach represents a deep transformation of the people management model. A firm commitment to a leadership that understands vulnerability as a natural part of life, and that puts people at the center of the business strategy.
“Committing to inclusion and diversity—that is our purpose and the foundation of our business, added to the commitment linked to people’s happiness. They are at the center of the strategy and, starting from them, the rest of the business revolves. We are a company that goes beyond the hotel industry: we are a refuge for the vulnerable. We speak of profitability with purpose,” explains José Ángel Preciados, CEO of ILUNION Hotels.
Real support that improves lives
The project, which began a year ago as a pilot, has so far enabled more than 4,000 support sessions, directly benefiting 770 professionals and identifying 413 cases of vulnerability that previously went unnoticed.
These meetings have revealed personal stories marked by grief, loneliness, economic or family difficulties, and other situations that affect both work performance and personal well-being. At ILUNION Hotels, where nearly 60% of the workforce lives with some form of vulnerability or disability, these realities are part of daily life. Responding to them from a human and professional approach is a priority.
Currently, the project has 35 DEIB Coaches deployed across the company’s 32 hotels and three workplaces, generating a visible impact on people’s quality of life.
An in-house methodology to measure the invisible
The work of the DEIB Coaches is based on an internally developed methodology that combines individual interviews, observation, analysis, and the application of an Inclusion Index, capable of measuring up to nine dimensions of well-being (emotional, physical, material, relational, occupational, etc.).
The goal is clear: to rigorously detect the real needs of the teams, provide tools for their development, and accompany them in their personal and professional growth.
“Our role goes beyond well-being. We provide support through empathy and commitment, generating bonds that directly impact people’s happiness,” explain María Pulido and David Levecq, members of the DEIB Coach team at ILUNION Hotels.
“What we do as DEIB Coaches transcends well-being: we accompany people in a way that truly impacts their happiness,” explain María Pulido and David Levecq, two DEIB Coaches at ILUNION Hotels.
Inclusion as a culture, not an isolated action
For ILUNION Hotels, inclusion is not a one-off initiative, but an essential part of its DNA. And it demonstrates this with every step. The figure of the DEIB Coach not only responds to a current need in the workplace but also represents a natural evolution of its management model: more human, sustainable, and committed.
“One of the results that has surprised us most is that people with visual disabilities have concluded they have the same quality of life as a person without a disability. That is exactly what we are looking for: when a person can develop in their work without barriers that limit their autonomy or talent, the disability becomes transparent. It is about ensuring that vulnerabilities fade into the background,” says Lourdes Díez, Head of the Social Area at ILUNION Hotels.
A model that can inspire others
With this initiative, ILUNION Hotels consolidates its position as a leading company in inclusion, diversity, and sustainability within the hotel sector.
“We want to inspire other organizations to integrate a business model where people are at the center, and where listening is not an exception, but a strategic management tool that improves both life and performance,” concludes José Ángel Preciados.
