Steigenberger Hotels, IntercityHotels and all the other brands of Deutsche Hospitality will in future offer neither eggs nor egg products from hens kept in cages. The changeover affects around 150 hotels on three continents and will be completed on a global level by 2025, and in Europe as early as by the end of 2019.
We had encouraged the company to make this public commitment. »Deutsche Hospitality is sending an important signal to the egg industry,« says Janika Kleine, project manager in our Corporate Outreach team. »In many countries, battery cages are still the norm. Through the influence of international companies, we can raise the housing standards of millions of hens worldwide and at least slightly improve their living conditions«.
The hens suffer greatly in the cages because many of their basic needs remain unfulfilled and they cannot live out their natural behaviour in this close confinement. From both an ethical and an economic point of view, cage farming is outdated. We will continue to make every effort to end it as soon as possible.
In addition to Steigenberger and Intercity, the brands MAXX, Jaz in the City and Zleep Hotels belong to Deutsche Hospitality. Most European hotels have already switched to shell eggs from barn systems. In Austria, all Deutsche Hospitality hotels even use eggs that meet higher standards than those used for barn eggs. However, since it is still difficult to obtain cage-free eggs and egg products in some countries outside the EU, the transition period is longer there.
Together with our partner organizations of the Open Wing Alliance, we have already won over a number of international hotel chains, including Hilton, Best Western, Hyatt and Marriott, to abandon battery cages. Find out more about our cage-free initiative here.
The official commitment of Deutsche Hospitality can be found here (in German): https://www.deutschehospitality.com/presse/pressearchiv/08082019.