Animal activist Open Wing Alliance (OWA) published a press release on March 5th, 2024, specifically calling out hotel chains Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Louvre Hotel Group and Meliá Hotels International for not reporting on their cage-free commitments.
On March 26th, 2024, OWA announced that the same three hotel chains promised to report on their cage-free pledges that expire in 2025. All three companies are in the midst of converting their egg supplies to cage-free sources.
Hilton committed to disclosing the percentage of cage-free eggs across its portfolio, broken down by sub-region, along with a detailed plan to meet its 100% cage-free egg goal in its managed hotels in the U.S., UK, Ireland and Europe.
Louvre publicized its current global cage-free egg percentage and has pledged to provide regional reports for its portfolio of shell eggs, liquid eggs and egg products by July 2024.
Melia promised to globally report its portfolio and provide information at the regional and country levels.
The press release was a part of OWA’s new initiative that targets global travel companies and includes a Fair and Fowl: Global Travel Edition report in which is praises some companies and plagues others.
Tell the story
While reporting on commitments publicly is important, and consumers and stakeholders have made it known that they care about transparency, we should report on why companies could be falling behind on these pledges. One reason could be due to the effects of avian influenza on egg producers. Another could be how the shift to cage-free egg production is straining the industry.
Maybe hotel chains are not quite sure how to report on those types of subjects, but animal activists could at least tell the whole story. OWA’s Fair and Fowl report doesn’t give any explanation on the matter.
While more companies are making cage-free commitments, it is worth remembering that most birds are still raised in cages globally. Additionally, according to animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming’s 2023 EggTrack Report 75% of companies with cage-free commitments have reported progress on their cage-free transition.
