ILUNION Hotels
Content submitted by UNWTO – Mariam Giorgadze
Submited Date : 11/10/2018
Gina, an ILUNION employee with a disability, working as a waitress. Photo credit: ILUNION Hotels.

ILUNION Hotels is a chain of accessible hotels offering differently-abled professionals the opportunity to work in the tourism sector. The ILUNION Hotels project covers the entirety of Spain, with physical representation in the provinces of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga, Huelva, Cadiz, Gerona, Menorca, Merida and Badajoz. One of its main objectives is to integrate persons with disabilities in a working environment where such professionals are lacking.

Appreciating the great potential of Special Employment Centres (CEE) – where the vast majority of staff members are persons with disabilities – ILUNION decided to carry out a trial in one of its hotels. After a trial lasting several months, which verified the viability of this approach, ILUNION requested the hotel’s official classification as a CEE. Today, all of ILUNION’s hotels offer employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Those classified as Special Employment Centres, where over 70% of employees have disabilities, are especially significant examples of labour integration. These CEEs offer all key hotel services, from accommodation to event hosting and catering, in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. The success of this initiative has involved a range of actors alongside ILUNION, including its dedicated staff and management, and several foundations, like FSC-INSERTA, dedicated to working with persons with disabilities.