Food and beverage has become an increasingly important profit center for hotels, creating opportunities to enhance the guest experience while capturing more on-property spending. As guest preferences evolve toward premium, wellness-focused and nonalcoholic options, hotel operators are rethinking how beverage programs fit into the overall stay experience.
Ahead of The Hospitality Show 2026, Elicia Hubach, senior director of sales, travel division, strategic partnerships and on-premise at The Coca-Cola Company, discussed the latest shifts in beverage consumption, the growing role of digital ordering and personalization, and how hotels can use beverage strategies to drive incremental revenue across restaurants, bars, lobby markets, catering and in-room occasions. She also explained why operational simplicity, profitable growth and guest-focused innovation remain top priorities for hotel owners and operators today.
What are the biggest shifts Coca-Cola is seeing in guest beverage preferences, and how are hotels adapting to meet those expectations?
Guests are becoming more intentional about what they drink in hotels. We are seeing continued demand for trusted, familiar brands, alongside growth in premium, functional, hydration-forward and non-alcoholic options. Hotel guests are also using more points of purchase across the property—from restaurants and bars to lobby markets, room service, vending, pools and catering spaces—so the opportunity is no longer one-size-fits-all. Hotels should be adapting by tailoring beverage assortments by occasion, guest segment and property tier, while using grab-and-go, digital ordering, premium packages and menu integration to make beverage choice easier and more relevant throughout the stay.
How does Coca-Cola work with hospitality operators to drive revenue opportunities beyond simply selling beverages?
Coca-Cola approaches hospitality as a total guest-experience and revenue-growth opportunity. We help identify how beverages can fill a guest need, improve the on-property experience and support owner profitability—from breakfast bundles and lobby market execution to premium dining, catering, in-room, poolside and event occasions. Our role is to bring consumer insights, beloved brands, packaging and equipment solutions, digital enablement, marketing programs and operational support together so beverages become part of a broader strategy to capture spend that might otherwise leave the property through avenues like DoorDash or other 3rd party F&B offerings.
What innovation or trend in foodservice and beverage do you believe hotel leaders should be paying closer attention to right now?
Hotel leaders should pay close attention to the intersection of digital ordering, personalization and occasion-based beverage attachment. Digital occasions remain a smaller share of lodging traffic, but they materially outperform non-digital moments in beverage attachment when prompts, bundles and loyalty-driven offers are built into the journey. At the same time, demand is shifting toward late-day, snackable, wellness-oriented and experience-led occasions. That creates a clear opportunity for hotels to use mobile ordering, charge-to-room, timed pickup, lobby markets and targeted offers to turn beverages into a more intentional part of the stay.
The Coca-Cola Company partners with hospitality businesses of all sizes. What are the most common priorities you're hearing from hotel owners and operators today?
The priorities we hear most often are profitable growth, operational simplicity and differentiation. Owners and operators are navigating cost pressure, labor constraints, changing travel patterns and increased competition from off-property dining and delivery. They want solutions that are easy for teams to execute, meaningful to guests and accretive to revenue. That means the right beverage assortment, clear merchandising, equipment that fits the occasion, digital tools that drive attachment, and programs that help hotels capture more food and beverage spend across breakfast, lobby markets, restaurants, bars, banquets and in-room experiences.
What makes The Hospitality Show an important event for Coca-Cola, and how does it help strengthen relationships and collaboration across the hospitality industry?
The Hospitality Show brings together the full hospitality ecosystem—owners, operators, brands, management companies, suppliers and industry leaders—with a shared focus on operating hotels more efficiently and profitably. For Coca-Cola, it is an important platform to listen, share insights and collaborate on the issues shaping the future of hotel food and beverage. It allows us to engage across current or potential partners, strengthen our role as a strategic industry influence, and bring forward ideas that connect guest experience, operational execution, sustainability, digital capability and revenue growth.