Many hospitality companies talk a good customer experience, but seem surprised when you ask them for examples of actual customer happiness. That’s not how Ilunion works, providing a true focus on the customer experience. From its work in understanding the needs of hearing and sight-impaired guests, to a love of pets, and a desire to do the right thing every day for them, Ilunion Hotels is different.
You can get an idea of that spirit by looking at Ilunion’s YouTube channel. Instead of gushing videos about the latest destinations or new member schemes, Ilunion’s staff talk candidly about their disabilities while they work, excel and grow in a welcoming environment that encourages career progress.
This explains why Inmaculada Martinez Ruiz, a CXMStars™ 2025 – Top CX Professional, is so keen to discuss the hotels’ progress as a customer service beacon across Spain and beyond. We took some time out of her busy schedule for a breathless chat about all-things hospitality.
What makes Ilunion different in the sphere of hospitality customer experience?
We are a Spanish company, with just 31 hotels as part of the Union group. We operate in a world that seeks to promote sustainable, responsible, inclusive and accessible tourism. Ilunion Hotels main shareholder is also a division of the ONCE Social Group (Spanish National Organisation of the Blind). This unique business model sees us running 15 special employment centres, with 70% of our people working with some type of disability.
There are different and enriching people all around us in the business. Some with different capabilities and others enjoying a life and work opportunity they would not get elsewhere. When it comes to our customers, we provide hotels where everyone is included. Some guests are blind or have other health issues, we are also a pet-friendly hotel chain, so there is much more than just the typical guest issues for us to consider.
For some staff, it is not about disabilities, it’s people who have had no chance in life because they were sleeping in the road. We provide that opportunity, and they treat our guests with great love and respect. So guests start to understand, and that’s when the reward happens. Guests get to fall in love with us, our staff and our hotels.
How do you embed customer service at Ilunion?
We started off with a total review of our customer interactions in 2022. We identified some 117 points where we interact with our guests. Based on that, we identified 38 processes that needed reform or changing. Our USP is our people who see the message clearly, we need to implement our customer’s culture: I’m your Host.
The culture visualizes our people and their key role as host, a culture that fixes problems and wows guests immediately. We try to awaken customers’ curiosity, and they leave us messages like “because you exist, I can travel.” This encourages us to go beyond barriers and customer service at Ilunion
What’s a great example of your hospitality where staff made a difference for a guest?
We had a guest in our Madrid hotel in 2024. They enjoyed their stay very much, but their dog enjoyed the hospitality so much more, having the best sleep ever on one of our special dog beds.
Our guests returned home planning to buy one of those beds, but shortly after, the Valencia floods devastated their home and neighbourhood. They sent a letter, asking where they could buy one of those beds. But since they were coming to Madrid to buy a replacement car for one lost in the floods, we provided them with a bed for free, plus some goods and treats to help them get over their loss.
In the end we want our clients to be more than our guests, but also a part of our story
Ilunion sounds like a very personal business, but how do you make use of technology?
We’ve made significant investments in technology — from accessible websites to an upcoming mobile app designed for all users. But for us, technology is not just about innovation — it’s about inclusion.
In the back office, we are exploring artificial intelligence through our Innovation Plan, with a strong focus on ethical data use and avoiding bias. We also use data to create real-time hyper-personalisation for our guests, helping us better anticipate their needs and preferences through hospitality.
What matters most is that technology supports — never replaces — the human touch. At Ilunion Hotels, we believe digital tools should empower our people to connect more deeply with our guests, not distance them. That’s why every step forward in tech is a step forward in humanity, too. We say “Esto lo que hace es reforzar el equilibrio entre innovación y valores,” meaning “What this does is reinforce the balance between innovation and values.
We believe technology must empower human connection. That’s why our innovation plan focuses on accessibility, real-time personalisation, and ethical AI — without losing the human touch.
How do you make sure your hotel experience is believed by everyone?
We believe this from the top to the bottom. I have to say it was kind of a surprise to hear our CEO Jose Angel mention that he wanted Ilunion Hotels to generalise, not to have a unique business model anymore, because all our competitors could migrate to it. But, it is a strong identity for all our staff that we are different, and a point of pride when making decisions that affect the customer experience. So that’s like magic, it’s really inspiring, to be honest.
And we are proud to share our dreams and success with others, we shared a white paper with the Spanish Association for Hoteliers, “Guidelines for basic customer service for people with disabilities,” to highlight how we can all be part of the change.