Where the ideas have been put to work.

Each entry sets out the challenge, Héctor’s actual role, the approach and what is publicly documented. Work carried out by colleagues, auditors and partners is credited as theirs.

1. Founding Regenera Luxury

   2022 – present · Founder & President

   Challenge

   Luxury hotels pursuing regeneration had no shared operational definition and no independent way to verify claims. Small and remote properties had little access to frameworks designed for large groups.

   Role

   Founder and President. Author of the founding definition; sets strategy. The methodology and platform are developed with the Regenera Luxury team; certification audits are carried out by accredited auditors.

   Approach

   A standard (the RL Standard), graded certification levels, a hotel management platform (RLP — Regenerative Luxury Platform), performance intelligence (RL Intelligence™), independent third-party audit and public verification.

   Documented

   Participating properties are listed publicly in RL Stays.

2. Communities and destinations: a non-profit in Mexico

   2022 – present · Founder

   Challenge

   Destinations with a unique cultural heritage can prosper from tourism while the young people of the communities who sustain that heritage lack access to the education and training that would let them share in its value.

   Role

   Founded Luxury Sustainable Hotels AC, a non-profit civil association in Playa del Carmen, Mexico — the institutional base from which Regenera Luxury grew. Contributes pro bono.

   Approach

   Education and professional training as the lever: educational resources, courses, training and mentoring for young people, with the support of universities including Universidad Anáhuac Cancún. The work continues through Regenera Luxury’s destination and community programmes and regenerative programmes.

   Documented

   More than 100 young people supported in advancing their education, with certain courses recognised by Universidad Anáhuac Cancún. More than US$100,000 in resources contributed to professional training in Nepal, Bangladesh, Bacalar (Quintana Roo) and the state of Veracruz, Mexico.

   

3. Regenera Luxury Hospitality Awards

   2026 – · Creator, Founder and Chairman

   Challenge

   Recognition in luxury hospitality rewards the experience. Very little rewards documented regenerative performance.

   Role

   Conceived and founded the programme. Evaluation is carried out by the Regenera Luxury team against published categories, with an advisory board for editorial distinctions.

   Approach

   Evidence-based nominations scored across leadership, governance, environment, wellness and culture categories. Launched at ITB Berlin in March 2026.

   Documented

   164 nominations from 21 countries and 32 finalists, as published by the programme. Winners announced on 15 October 2026 in The Regenera Luxury Journal’s winners edition.

4. The Regenera Luxury Journal and Magazine

   Editorial director

   Challenge

   Owners and investors considering regeneration need case-study-grade evidence, not campaigns.

   Role

   Sets editorial direction. Production and contributions involve an editorial team and named contributors.

   Approach

   Two titles with distinct purposes: The Regenera Luxury Journal, a quarterly of research and case studies; and The Regenera Luxury Magazine, covering hotels, wellness, destinations and savoir-faire.

   Documented

   Published in English and Spanish. Latest Journal edition: Regenera Luxury Awards 2026 (October 2026). Magazine Issue 01.

5. World Regenerative Tourism Day

   2026 – · Founder

   Challenge

   Regenerative tourism had no shared annual moment to align institutions, destinations and operators.

   Role

   Founder and author of the foundational documents. The initiative is held by Regenera Luxury LLC.

   Approach

   An observance on 23 May, with an open instrument of adhesion for institutions, hotels, retreats and NGOs, and versioned documents deposited with DOIs.

   Documented

   Four foundational documents, version 2.0, deposited on Zenodo on 29 September 2026: the Founding Declaration, Global Manifesto, Founder Statement and Official Adherence Instrument. First global observance on 23 May 2027. How to join.

6. RL Institute and academic collaborations

   2026 – present · Founder

   Challenge

   Credible regenerative luxury needs people trained to apply it and auditors qualified to verify it — in many countries and languages.

   Role

   Founder. Created the RL Institute within Regenera Luxury; teaching is shared with faculty and practitioners.

   Approach

   Programmes for hotel teams, executives and universities, and the training and accreditation of the international network of Regenera Luxury auditors. Academic collaborations include the University of Westminster (United Kingdom), Universidad Anáhuac Cancún (Mexico), the University of Rijeka — Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Opatija (Croatia) — and AMFORHT (Paris).

   Documented

   RL Institute.

• 2018 – presentDe Castro Group — independent technical and regenerative advisory for hotel owners and developers.
• 2016 – 2017Interim Managing Director, Humiclima–Friusa (Grupo ACS) — hotel technical services.
• 2014 – 2015Food & Beverage and pre-openings, Horwath HTL Spain (then Crowe Horwath).
• 2012Pre-opening of Meliá Danang, Vietnam — plan reviews and coordination on site during construction.
• 2004 – 2017Led technical-services companies in hotel pre-openings for Meliá, Barceló, Royalton, Princess, Lopesan and Hilton, among others, across Europe, South-East Asia and the Caribbean; quality audits of luxury properties in South-East Asia.