Institute
Methodology
How HCI designs studies, builds indicators, runs the awards process and measures media impact.
Formal research stays quantitative, repeats annually and remains comparable in time. Qualitative observation from roundtables, the Accelerator, Innovation Camp and Awards enriches interpretation and stays clearly labelled as observation.
On this page
Research design
- Collection method
- The 2026 quantitative studies of the Hospitality Culture Research Center use CATI telephone interviews with urban adults.
- Consumer Behaviour 2026
- 808 respondents across ten cities, with fieldwork running from 5 to 23 December 2025.
- Usage & Attitudes 2026
- 822 respondents across Bucharest, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Brașov, with fieldwork running from 8 to 27 January 2026.
- Annual cadence
- Each study repeats yearly with stable instruments, which keeps year-on-year comparison valid.
- Indicators
- Market value, visit frequency, average spend, price perception, experience quality and loyalty form the core indicator set.
- Declared transparency
- Each report publishes the target universe, sample, fieldwork period, questionnaire scope and sampling error.
Research products and cadence
| Product | Cadence | Primary use |
|---|---|---|
| Usage & Attitudes | Annual | Format, occasion and venue strategy |
| Consumer Behaviour | Annual | Pricing, frequency and loyalty planning |
| Coffee Research | Annual | Category and out-of-home coffee strategy |
| HoReCa Census | Annual | Market structure and location planning |
| Custom Research | On request | One company decision, scoped and sampled to fit |
Qualitative observation
Roundtable conversations, accelerator diagnostics, camp sessions and awards juries generate rich operational observation. HCI records this material under anonymity where the format requires it.
Publications label qualitative material as observation and keep it separate from measured research findings.
Awards methodology
- Nomination
- Entries arrive through open nomination and professional recommendation.
- Shortlist
- 4 jury mentions place an entry on the shortlist.
- Final scoring
- First place 3 points, second place 2 points, third place 1 point.
- Oversight
- External supervision verifies the counting process and the published outcome.
Media measurement
- Monitoring provider
- Klarmedia records appearances across radio, online, print and television.
- Reach estimate
- Cumulative reach comes from audience data supplied per outlet and presented as a range.
- Media value
- Estimated value applies published advertising rates to the recorded editorial space and airtime.
Source labels
Research figures carry the label HCI Research 2026. Media figures carry the label HCI Media Impact Report 2025.