Best Western’s Global Inequity
Betrayal. Inequity. Broken Promises.
In 2019, Best Western made a public promise to hens and guests alike: it vowed to transition to a 100% cage-free egg supply across all its global brands by 2025. As part of that pledge, the company committed to regularly updating the public on its progress.
But nearly six years later, Best Western is just now only reporting progress for some of the regions it operates in. No meaningful updates. No plan to get to 100% cage-free. No global equity. And no real indication that the company will meet its self-imposed 2025 deadline.
Current and potential guests around the world are now demanding more transparency. It’s time for Best Western to report percentages for all operating regions including Africa, and publicly disclose their plans for meeting their goal. If they are not able to fulfill their 2025 commitment due to supply shortages, we expect them to bridge the gap with cage-free credits.
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Animal welfare
The Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare, which were written by Irish medical scientist Francis Brambell in 1965 and codified by the UK's Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979, represent the bare minimum of living standards that animals in captivity should have: (1) freedom from thirst and hunger, (2) freedom from discomfort by providing adequate shelter, (3) freedom from disease, pain, or injury, (4) freedom from distress and fear, and (5) freedom to engage in natural behaviors. On factory farms, animals are denied most if not all of the natural behaviors they would otherwise engage in. This has serious consequences for their physical and psychological health.
Confinement
Egg-laying hens are forcefully shoved inside wire cages, which do not adequately provide for their welfare. The cages are so overcrowded that hens cannot carry out many important, basic behaviors. Some hens cannot endure this extreme suffering and die in their cages.
Injuries
Foot and claw damage are more frequent in cages than in other systems, with lesions, fissures, and twisted or broken claws resulting from stepping on sharp wiring every day. Often, other body parts are caught in the caging, which results in fractured or broken bones, deformities, and severe feather loss.
Mental Anguish
Like any animal, chickens are highly motivated to perform natural behaviors. Although some cage farms provide some token enrichment, it is so poor that it is of little or no significance to hens. The constant inability to perform any actions that feel natural leads to immense, unending frustration and irreversible psychological distress.
Reporting progress is crucial—and Best Western is falling behind
Accountability
Making a commitment to go 100% cage-free is a commendable first step to better animal welfare practices but the most important piece is the follow through. Reporting consistent progress on reaching this goal is imperative for holding companies like Best Western accountable for their public promises.
Transparency
Transparency allows the public to see whether a company is truly living up to its values—not just stating them. Nearly all major hospitality groups are now reporting on their global cage-free commitments. By staying silent, Best Western is falling behind its competitors and failing to meet industry standards when it comes to animal welfare— putting its reputation, consumer trust, and brand loyalty at risk.
Some of Best Western’s competitors that are publicly sharing their cage-free progress include:
About Best Western Hotels & Resorts
Best Western Hotels & Resorts is a global hospitality powerhouse headquartered in the United States. With more than 4,300 hotels in over 100 countries, its portfolio spans 19 brands—including WorldHotels, Best Western Premier, SureStay, the BW Premier Collection and many more.
About the OPEN WING ALLIANCE (OWA)
The Open Wing Alliance (OWA) brings member organizations together to create a unified front in our campaign to free egg-laying hens from cages. We share campaign strategies, tactics, and resources around the world in the march toward our shared objective.
