"It's Pepsi, is that ok?"

Not anymore, it isn't, as the world's largest hotel group goes full fat Coke

Coca-Cola truck (Public donain)

I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I have tremendous bar presence. Some of this is simple common sense — stand in the right spot and be tall. But the real competitive advantage comes from making brief eye contact with the bartender with just the right amount of smile (the latter only applies if you can do so without looking like a creep). And then… wait. That means no aggressive leaning or staring.

Trust the process.

What I cannot do, however, is break exclusive beverage contract law. So if I’m under instruction to get you a Coke Zero and the bartender asks with practised neutrality, “Is Pepsi ok?” I’m going to reply “yes”. Because 1. It’s not for me 2. I assume we’re optimising for function and convenience and 3. Not everything is grist for the Rory Sutherland anecdata mill.

Most Coke drinkers can live with a Pepsi. Marriott, it turns out, cannot. This month, it was officially confirmed that Marriott International — the world’s largest hotel group whose portfolio spans 30 brands¹ and roughly 10,000 properties in over 140 countries — had signed a global agreement with the Coca-Cola Company to become Marriott’s “global beverage partner”.

In human-speak, that means for the first time in 34 years, guests will be able to reliably order a Diet Coke on Marriott property. More than that, every minibar, restaurant, soda fountain and event space will be a Pepsi-free zone. And while I neither drink the stuff nor stay in many hotels, it’s pretty exciting news with a neat little backstory too.

In the early 1990s, Marriott was experiencing severe financial difficulties. Its debts had spiralled to almost $3bn, its bonds had been downgraded to ‘junk’ status and it was being sued by its bondholders for good measure. The company approached Coca-Cola, its soft drink provider at the time, to enquire about a loan of between $50 to $100m at below-market rate. Coke declined.