The .hilton Dot
Brand
SPECIAL
NOTE: The application for the .hilton TLD has been withdrawn.
If the
brand domains are judged to be successful, it is realistically likely
that a second application will be made when a new round is offered in
a couple of years time.
Hilton
Worldwide Inc. operates more than 3,800 hotels and time share properties
with 630,000 rooms on offer. The company has operations in 88 countries
under ten hotel brands. It is the fastest growing major hotel group.
Its loyalty program has more than 30 million members, one of the world's
largest brand loyalty programs.
Hilton
is proud of its innovations, for example its role in RoomKey.com (an
initiative of six of the world's leading hotel companies) which will
"provide consumers with simplicity, transparency, and breadth of
choice in booking hotel rooms directly from the companies themselves...".
As a major
international hotel group, online connection with customers is highly
important, and the proposed .hilton TLD could be of immense value to
the Applicant. The mission of the .hilton extension is to provide a
secure and authentic destination to book a hotel. Trustworthiness and
reliability will be enhanced. The Applicant believes that the .hilton
string will come to be seen as a sign of authenticity by online visitors.
We await
the opportunity to use the .hilton TLD to enhance our consumers' trust
in their online interactions with all Hilton branded properties and
to assist us in fulfilling our brand promise.
One of
the aims of the domain is "to protect, strengthen and expand the
famous Hilton brand...". Another is "to promote Hilton by
expanding our online global footprint as we expand our physical one".
In the
past eighteen years, the hilton.com website has received more than
1.2 billion unique visitors.
The Applicant
is looking forward to building a unique platform for its brands and
differentiating the company within the hospitality industry. An outreach
campaign will be considered to inform hotel guests, business partners
and the general public about the new TLD. Access to Hilton services
will be easier and more intuitive.
In time,
we hope that the opportunity to operate a .hilton gTLD registry will
create a foundation on which we can create further innovations designed
to enhance the authenticity, security, and safety of consumers who
wish to search for and book accommodations...
Hilton
has won many awards, such as "Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural
Business Opportunities" and "Hotel Company of the Year".
The service
levels and reputation of our proposed .hilton TLD will be commensurate
with everything that our guests and the general public have come to
expect from the Hilton brand.
Hilton
holds almost 3000 trademarks in almost every country. The proposed .hilton
TLD will empower the Applicant with greater flexibility to transform
its online content to encompass the evolving desires of the traveling
public.
...we
have registered more than 2,495 second-level domain names that contain
or consist of the Hilton mark, although many are defensive registrations
against cybersquatting that now resolve to hilton.com.
NOTE: second-level
= left of the dot
Hilton
highly respects the privacy of its customers and will comply with all
applicable data collection and privacy laws. The company also respects
the intellectual property rights of all third parties. All .hilton domain
names will be used solely in resonance with its mission and values.
 Geographic
Dot Brands
Hilton
intends to follow ICANN's GAC advice to adhere to the relevant sections
of the Registry Agreement and reserve from registration certain geographical
names in the .hilton TLD.
The reserved
country and territory names are listed in the internationally recognized
documents the ISO 3166-1 list, the UN Group of Experts Manual for the
Standardization of Geographical Names and a UN member list (in six languages).
As an international
travel and accomodation company, there would obviously be great value
in being able to use names like USA.hilton and Germany.hilton. Hence
the Applicant leaves open the probability that it will apply for permission
to use geographic .hilton domain names at some point in the future.
Such permission
is highly likely because country signifiers in brand domains are not
misleading or disadvantageous to governments, and further, are clearly
in the public interest.
HLT Stakis
may, however, seek to release and register at the second level country
and territory names for its own use upon agreement with the applicable
government or governments, or pursuant to a proposal reviewed by the
Governmental Advisory Committee and approved by ICANN.
NOTE: HLT
Stakis IP Limited is an affiliate of Hilton Worldwide Inc.
Possible .hilton
Brand Domains
Hotel.hilton
Hotels.hilton
Hospitality.hilton
Reservations.hilton
HHonors.hilton
TravelGuides.hilton
Resorts.hilton
WaldorfAstoria.hilton
GrandVacations.hilton
NewYork.hilton
Melbourne.hilton
London.hilton
Notes
Brand
names mentioned on this site are registered trademarks or trademarks
of their respective corporations. This site claims no association
with or endorsement by any of these corporations and their marks are
mentioned only to illustrate opinion presented in the public interest.
All quotations
on this page are from the respective companies' official ICANN brand
TLD applications unless otherwise stated.
Many possible
theoretical dot brands are mentioned (in English). There are also countless
possibilities in other languages. This has significant potential value
for international navigation.
This site
is focused on reporting the strategic impact of the brand domains on
internet communication, competition and commerce, and some comment is
speculative.
It is not
a comprehensive overview of what some of the world's largest corporations
have chosen to reveal about their plans for the implementation of their
proprietary domain strings.
ICANN is
particularly concerned with the technical, financial, security and legal
issues associated with the new TLDs. These issues are beyond the scope
of this website.
For a comprehensive
overview of the brand domains and their impact on the web, refer to
ICANN's website and the individual applications (large parts of which
are publicly published).
If you
have a particular interest in an individual company, the public aspects
of their applications are available for download via these ICANN links:
You can also search a complete list of applicants there.
ICANN
new gTLD applications
ICANN
official website
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