For many of our guests, breakfast begins with an egg or two. At HSM, responsible and sustainable sourcing of those eggs is a key part of our global commitment to environmental change. In 2019, Hilton formalized its commitment to procure 100% of its eggs from cage-free sources for all owned, managed and franchised hotels worldwide by 2025. HSM, in turn, immediately went to work with our suppliers and farmers to place a renewed emphasis on sourcing eggs from chickens living outside of cages.

But what difference does cage-free make, anyway? Eggs sourced through conventional harvesting are often laid by hens living in wire cages so small that they may not even have room to spread their wings. For cage-free hens, the difference means access to fresh food, clean water, secure shelter, protection from predators and disease and room to roam. Cage-free means a higher quality of life for the hen and a more responsibly sourced consumer product.

As we all know, better quality traditionally comes at a higher price, and HSM’s devoted U.S. cage-free egg suppliers – Deb El, Michael Foods and Grand Prairie – navigate numerous factors that can influence cost, ranging from smaller-scale production to higher egg loss. Fortunately, HSM and our dedicated F&B sourcing team have worked to mitigate the cost increase associated with the switch to a better, more sustainable product, negotiating a 20% price reduction on cage-free eggs for our customers. Our F&B team also remains focused on ongoing product evaluations and associated savings to ensure we keep costs low while keeping pace with demand.

Hotels looking to add cage-free eggs to their menu can leverage HSM’s existing partnerships and supplier contracts, gaining easy access to cage-free sources for fresh, liquid, frozen and other egg products. And as more companies across various industries are making cage-free egg commitments, our suppliers stand ready to meet the rising need. Michael Foods, for example, is expanding its cage-free capabilities by converting an existing farm in Nebraska to increase production capacity by four million hens in anticipation of future demand and protection against product shortages.

For our part, Hilton and HSM are well on track to fulfill our commitment to go cage-free by already sourcing more than 70% of our U.S. and U.K. eggs from cage-free sources. Nationwide, all Hilton-managed full service hotels exclusively serve cage-free eggs, and all Hilton-managed California hotels, both full and focused service, have completely transitioned to cage-free eggs. With the demand for cage-free eggs expected to increase tenfold over the next five years, we remain committed to partnering with suppliers, the hotel industry and the global community to hatch new and ongoing innovations around responsible sourcing.