Master’s research, 2014
Face to Face: Adapting to New Times
Cara a Cara: adaptándose a nuevos tiempos
My master’s research (2014) at CETT – Universitat de Barcelona (Máster Universitario de Dirección Hotelera), supervised by Andreu Vilagines Mollevi. It asks whether hotels could use videoconferencing and telepresence to create more face-to-face moments, between guests and the people they miss, and between guests and staff. It proposes five service concepts and tests two hypotheses with an online survey. The thesis was written in Spanish; the English translation (2026) is by the author.
What the survey found
The first hypothesis was not supported.
The hypothesis was that telepresence could replace staff presence in some service processes. 66.49% of respondents preferred a classic check-in with a receptionist and 3.66% preferred checking in by video call. For hotel information, 61.26% preferred to go to the reception or concierge in person.
Table 9, p. 70; Table 14, p. 74
Video calls are for the close circle.
Among respondents who use video calls, 71% use them with family and 60% with friends. 37% use them with work colleagues and 19% with customers.
Table 20, p. 78
Calls are short and made from quiet places.
About six in ten calls last 30 minutes or less. Respondents had called from home (86%), the office (62%), a hotel room (51%) and a café (31%). Water, hot drinks and soft drinks were the most common things to have during a call.
Tables 18, 21, 22, pp. 77–80
On the road, messaging wins, and video still has a place.
80% named messaging as their main way to stay in touch while travelling. 60% said they make teleconference calls when travelling, and 65% said they would use a video service in a hotel lobby.
Tables 23, 24, 25, pp. 81–82
The teledinner: stated interest, untested.
Asked whether they would attend a dinner shared over video with people elsewhere, 72% of the men and 82% of the women said yes. It was a hypothetical question, with no price and no occasion. The reasons given for “no” were time zones, wanting physical contact and doubts about the format.
Table 26, p. 83
Page numbers refer to the original Spanish document.
How to read these numbers
This was a convenience sample: the survey went to about 800 of the author’s contacts and 193 answered in five days (p. 66). It records stated preferences, not behaviour, and it is not representative of hotel guests. The thesis targeted 400 responses (p. 58).
Read the thesis
- Full thesis, English translation (PDF) ↓
70 pages. Translation 2026, by the author.
- Original thesis, Spanish (PDF) ↓
94 pages. CETT – Universitat de Barcelona, 2014.
- Twelve years later: what I got right in 2014, and what I missed →