Marriott ruffles feathers by failing pledge to use only cage-free eggs

On Dec. 19, the limestone columns of the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia lit up with the flashing lights of a cop car. Police officers and hotel staff stood guard before the entrance as a small group of protesters paced outside.

“Ritz-Carlton has blood on their hands!” a woman yelled through a megaphone.

On the sidewalk, the activists scrawled messages in chalk such as “Ritz abuses animals” and “Boycott Marriott” – the parent company of the luxury hotel brand. Their posters demanded that Bethesda-based Marriott “stop caging chickens.”

The battle cry traces back to a promise that the world’s largest hotel chain made in a different era of corporate responsibility – and is an issue that goes far beyond Philadelphia.

In 2013, Marriott announced it would transition to cage-free eggs at all of its properties worldwide. It renewed the pledge in 2018, vowing to meet the goal by the end of 2025. But as the deadline approached, activists began to question whether the company would keep its word. Then they began to protest, with demonstrations as far-flung as Thailand, India and Brazil.

Marriott released an update in May that said the company was “working closely” on its cage-free-egg sourcing efforts and was “pleased with the progress that has been made,” but it had not achieved its goal. In fact, it was not even close. The company, which has a portfolio of more than 9,300 properties and 30 brands in 144 countries and territories, alluded to challenges posed by avian flu and the global supply chain.

https://thedailyrecord.com/2026/01/15/marriott-bethesda-cage-free-eggs-protests-pledge/