Non-profit civil association · RFC LSH220719KH8 Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
NGO · Regenerative tourism

About us

A non-profit civil association, founded in Playa del Carmen in 2022, to promote regenerative tourism that strengthens people, their communities and destinations.

About us

A civil association specialized in regenerative tourism, serving people and their communities.

LUSHIA (Luxury Sustainable Hotels, A.C.) is a non-profit civil association registered in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

It was founded in July 2022 out of work with communities and destinations with a unique cultural heritage, and out of one conviction: training is the most lasting way for tourism to leave value in the people who make it possible.

Mission

To bring training, mentoring and professional services within reach of entrepreneurs, young and senior talent and communities, so that regenerative tourism and hospitality offer them a dignified and lasting future.

Vision

Tourism in which every destination, and every person who works in it, comes out stronger: the path to regenerative luxury.

Our values

Values that go beyond sustainability.

A destination is cared for through its culture, the people who keep it alive and its ability to endure over time.

Cultural quality

We protect and pass on living heritage — crafts, art and traditions — as an essential part of each community's future.

Inclusion

We open opportunities for young people, senior professionals and local communities to take an active part in tourism and its benefits.

Wellbeing

We care for people: those who live in the destination, those who work there and those who visit.

Longevity

We think long term and value the experience of every age: people, projects and destinations that grow stronger over time.

Regeneration

Reducing impact is not enough: we aspire to leave every destination better than we found it, including its natural environment.

Together, these values shape regenerative luxury, the concept that Regenera Luxury, LLC represents, promotes and professionalizes today.

Our idea of luxury

The luxury we promote is not measured by price.

We promote tourism that sees luxury as experiences closely tied to the culture and nature of each place. Luxury that is lived rather than displayed, and that leaves a positive mark on both travellers and hosts.

Privacy

Unhurried time and space, away from crowds, respecting the privacy of travellers and of the community that welcomes them.

Wellbeing

Rest, health and a connection with nature, for guests and for the people who work in the destination.

Balance

Between enjoying and caring: experiences that do not exhaust a place, but help to regenerate it.

Living culture

Local food, crafts, languages and knowledge, shared with respect and to the benefit of those who keep them alive.

Nature

Rainforest, cenotes, reefs and mangroves experienced with knowledge, and protected thanks to tourism itself.

Tourism as a creator of wealth

Each of these elements creates real, lasting wealth: decent jobs, local enterprise, income that stays in the territory and heritage that is preserved. It is one of the keys we promote as an association and together with our strategic partners.

We call this way of understanding hospitality regenerative luxury.

Our story

A foundation of social value at the origin of Regenera Luxury.

The association and Regenera Luxury are independent entities that share an origin and values.

2022

The association is founded in Playa del Carmen to support communities and destinations with a unique cultural heritage through training.

Then

Training and our work with those destinations became the social-value pillar of a wider project. Accelerated by the career of Héctor de Castro, with more than 25 years in luxury hospitality, that pillar gave rise to Regenera Luxury, which measures and proves the value luxury hospitality can leave in each destination.

2026

The association joins World Regenerative Tourism Day as a founding partner and supports the first edition of the Regenera Luxury Hospitality Awards, both initiatives of Regenera Luxury.

Today

Regenera Luxury, LLC, based in the United States, represents, promotes and professionalizes regenerative luxury through its standard and certification. The association continues its non-profit training mission and does not issue certifications or labels.

NGO · Regenerative tourism
Ceiba (yaxché) · Yucatán Peninsula

Our name and symbol

lushia: what grows when a place regenerates.

A name and a symbol that sum up what we do, for whom and where we come from.

The name

LUSHIA comes from lush: the life that returns to a place when it regenerates. It is the name used by Luxury Sustainable Hotels, A.C., our legal name, and it keeps our roots in hospitality.

The ceiba

Our symbol is a ceiba, the yaxché, the sacred tree of the Maya and one of the most emblematic trees of the Yucatán Peninsula, where we were born. Its roots, trunk and canopy tell how we work: first the base, with education and training; then growth, with mentoring and accessible professional services; and on top, a wide canopy that shades many: the international network that opens up opportunities.

Two branches, one tree

The trunk opens into two branches that hold up a single canopy. They are young and senior talent: the energy of those starting out and the experience of those who have walked the path, growing together and supporting each other. They are also the cultural diversity of the people who make up LUSHIA, from the Maya Peninsula to Asia, Africa and the Americas: different origins, languages and cultures that share roots and one canopy. Two branches, one tree.

The terracotta dot

It is the person who flourishes. It sits in the ceiba's canopy and above the “i” in lushia, because everything we do begins and ends with people.

Our colours

Our palette comes from the land: the deep teal of the cenotes and the Caribbean Sea, the green of the Maya forest, the terracotta of the Peninsula’s red earth, the Maya k’ankab, and the ivory of sand and limestone. It is also the palette of World Regenerative Tourism Day, of which we are a founding partner; terracotta is our own signature.

Transparency

A civil association, with its details in the open.

We believe trust is built by showing who we are, how we are organized and who we work with.

Independence and relationship with Regenera Luxury

LUSHIA is an independent non-profit civil association. It was the social-value pillar that, together with its founder's professional career, gave rise to Regenera Luxury, LLC, today its main partner for training and its international network. They are separate legal entities, with separate resources and accounts.

  • The association does not issue certifications, labels or awards.
  • Our internships are designed for learning: each participant follows a learning plan with mentoring and follow-up. When they are part of an agreement with a university, as in our joint programme with Universidad Anáhuac Cancún, the hours count towards the student's academic training.
  • Every person or organization that collaborates with the association first completes an assessment of values and commitment to action.
  • Scholarships on Regenera Luxury Institute courses are funded by the Institute itself; the association receives no commission on enrolments.
  • We have an equality, integration and inclusion policy.
Legal nameLuxury Sustainable Hotels, A.C.
NameLUSHIA
Tax statusNon-profit legal entity (Mexico)
Mexican tax ID (RFC)LSH220719KH8
Start of operations19 July 2022
Based inPlaya del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
FounderProf. Héctor de Castro

Frequently asked questions

What people often ask us.

What is LUSHIA?

LUSHIA is the name used by Luxury Sustainable Hotels, A.C., a non-profit civil association registered in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, that brings training, mentoring and accessible or subsidized professional services to entrepreneurs, young and senior talent and communities, and promotes regenerative tourism.

How is it related to Regenera Luxury?

The association was the social-value pillar on which, driven by the professional career of its founder, Héctor de Castro, Regenera Luxury was created. Today it is an independent company, Regenera Luxury, LLC, based in the United States. The association collaborates with the Regenera Luxury Institute on training and does not issue certifications or labels.

Does the association grant awards or certifications?

No. The association does not issue certifications, labels or awards. We support and help promote the Regenera Luxury Hospitality Awards, which are run by Regenera Luxury, LLC.

What is regenerative luxury?

It is an approach to luxury hospitality that goes beyond reducing impact and aims to leave destinations, their communities and their culture better than they were. You can read its definition at Regenera Luxury.

What is World Regenerative Tourism Day?

It is an annual observance, every 23 May, launched by Regenera Luxury, with the association as a founding partner. The first global celebration will take place on 23 May 2027.

How can I collaborate?

Universities, hotels, companies, foundations and destinations can collaborate on training, mentoring and work-opportunity programmes. Write to us and we will tell you how.

Collaborate

Let's join forces for training in destinations.

Universities

Recognized internships, faculty and co-created specialized content.

Hotels & companies

Internships, mentoring and opportunities for young and senior talent.

Foundations & destinations

Training programmes with measurable impact on the ground.

See our membership options for individuals and organizations →

Collaboration request

Tell us who you are and what you are interested in. We will reply from info@lushia.org.

Every collaboration starts with an assessment. Every person or organization that works with LUSHIA first completes a short assessment to show that they share our values and our commitment to action. We will explain the steps when we reply. Read the assessment →

Prefer email? Write to us at info@lushia.org · Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico