.MARRIOTT New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Marriott Worldwide Corporation
String: MARRIOTT
Originally Posted: 13 June 2012
Application ID: 1-1242-18450
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Marriott Worldwide Corporation
- Address of the principal place of business
10400 Fernwood Road
Bethesda MD 20817
US
- Phone number
+1 301 380 3000
- Fax number
+1 301 644 8094
- If applicable, website or URL
http:⁄⁄www.marriott.com⁄default.mi
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Mr. Joshua Bourne
6(b). Title
Managing Partner
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+1 202 223 9252
6(e). Fax Number
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Ms. Elisabeth Escobar
7(b). Title
Vice President & Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+1 301 380 8560
7(e). Fax Number
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Corporation
8(b). State the specific national or other jursidiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
Maryland
8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Arne Morris Sorenson Director & Vice President
Carl T. Berquist Director
Edward A. Ryan Director & Vice President
J.W. Marriott, Jr. President
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Bancroft S. Gordon Secretary
Bradley R. Wood Assistant Secretary
Carolyn Burris Handlon Treasurer
Chanel M. Bradden Assistant Secretary
Charles Johnson Assistant Secretary
Horace E. Jordan, Jr. Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Kevin M. Kimball Vice President
Laura L. Floyd Assistant Secretary
Mark Forseth Assistant Secretary
Michael E. Cullen Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Michael S. Owens Assistant Secretary
Richard J. Lind Assistant Secretary
Steven Goldman Assistant Secretary
Susannah M. Bennett Assistant Secretary
- David Mann Vice President & Assistant Secretary
Ward R. Cooper Assistant Secretary
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Marriott International, Inc. Not Applicable
11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
MARRIOTT
14(a). If an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").
14(b). If an IDN, provide the meaning or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.
14(c). If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).
14(c). If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).
14(d). If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).
14(d). If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).
14(e). If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.
15(a). If an IDN, Attach IDN Tables for the proposed registry.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
15(b). Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.
15(c). List any variant strings to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.
- Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.
Marriott Worldwide Corporation anticipates the introduction of this .MARRIOTT gTLD without operational or rendering problems. Based on a decade of experience launching and operating new TLDs, Afilias Limited (ʺAfiliasʺ) the back-end provider of registry services for the .MARRIOTT gTLD, is confident the launch and operation of this gTLD presents no known challenges. The rationale for this opinion includes:
-The string is not complex and is represented in standard ASCII characters and follows relevant technical, operational and policy standards;
-The string length is within lengths currently supported in the root and by ubiquitous Internet programs such as web browsers and mail applications;
-There are no new standards required for the introduction of the .MARRIOTT gTLD;
-No onerous requirements are being made on registrars, registrants or Internet users, and;
-The existing secure, stable and reliable Afilias SRS, DNS, WHOIS and supporting systems and staff are amply provisioned and prepared to meet the needs of the .MARRIOTT gTLD.
- (OPTIONAL) Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).
Mission/Purpose
18(a). Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
Answer for Question 18
18.1 Mission and Purpose of .MARRIOTT
Marriott International, Inc. (“Marriott”) is a leading global hospitality services company, serving the needs of current and prospective guests around the world through its brands such as Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard By Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton. Marriott has more than 150,000 employees and over 3,700 lodging properties in the United States and 71 other countries and territories. Marriott’s content is accessible in the following representative TLDs : .COM, .NET, .ORG, .CA, .CN, .EU, and .JP.
Through a unified corporate approach, Marriott intends to submit one gTLD application for the string .MARRIOTT.
The intended future mission and purpose of the .MARRIOTT gTLD is to serve as a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace provided by Marriott and potentially its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. In order to bring this domain to market, Marriott is utilizing Marriott Worldwide Corporation (“MWC”), a wholly owned, existing entity. MWC is filing this application in ICANN’s first round also to test the utility of this new space in reaching current and prospective guests through online campaigns.
MWC will be analyzing and evaluating other .BRAND gTLD applications as well as general market adoption of new gTLDs to determine short- and long-term potential best-in-class use case options to most effectively serve and enhance Marriott’s online strategy as a leading global retailer with operations in the following segments:
-FULL-SERVICE LODGING: Founded in 1927, Marriott began as a root beer stand in Washington, DC and has evolved into a global hospitality company with full-service offerings across the following brands: MARRIOTT, JW MARRIOTT, RENAISSANCE, THE RITZ-CARLTON, BULGARI, AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION, EDITION, and MARRIOTT CONFERENCE CENTERS.
-SELECT-SERVICE LODGING: Marriott also has a variety of select-service lodging brands offering competitive pricing and convenient amenities for business travelers and families. Marriott’s brands in this segment include COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT, FAIRFIELD INN BY MARRIOTT, SPRINGHILL SUITES BY MARRIOTT, and AC HOTELS BY MARRIOTT.
-EXTENDED-STAY LODGING: Marriott offers a variety of properties in this segment designed for stays of longer durations than one to two nights, with many units offering kitchens and larger living areas. Marriott’s brands in this segment include MARRIOTT EXECUSTAY, RESIDENCE INN BY MARRIOTT, TOWNEPLACE SUITES BY MARRIOTT, and MARRIOTT EXECUTIVE APARTMENTS.
MWC intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .MARRIOTT gTLD to Marriott, as well as potentially to Marriottʹs qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. This initial limited use will allow MWC to establish the .MARRIOTT operations and achieve full sustainability. This limited distribution coupled with the other requirements set forth in Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement should exempt MWC from its annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements. MWC is currently planning a four-stage rollout for Marriott’s gTLD as summarized below.
- Stage One
The initial stage of implementation of the gTLD will involve MWC registering a limited number of .MARRIOTT second-level domain names.
This initial use will provide Marriott’s IT and security personnel the time to run a number of tests to ensure seamless and secure access using the .MARRIOTT gTLD domain names, interoperability with various software and Web-based applications, and unbroken and secure use of all names. This initial allocation will also allow the appropriate MWC staff to coordinate with the internal and external staff responsible for the delegation and setup phases of the .MARRIOTT gTLD to ensure a proper transition from delegation to full operation.
- Stage Two
Once all testing has been successfully completed, MWC will begin allocating domain names in .MARRIOTT for more widespread internal corporate use. During this same period of time, MWC will begin evaluating strategies to potentially migrate traffic away from its current patchwork network of second-level domain names, which are registered in a variety of TLDs, to .MARRIOTT.
It is in Stage 2 that MWC will evaluate expanding the operations of the gTLD to permit registration by other registrants such as licensees or strategic partners.
Should an assessment of its expansion strategy lead to a decision to extend registration rights to other parties, this expansion is currently planned to take place during Stage 3, and likely after the first three years of operation. However, any expansion would be conditioned upon a review of the Specification 9 (Registry Code of Conduct) set forth in the template Registry Agreement to ensure compliance with Marriott’s business model.
- Stage Three
Depending upon the analysis of the evaluations undertaken in Stage Two, MWC may begin to implement the permanent migration of Internet traffic away from the gTLDs in which Marriott’s domain names are currently registered, and toward the new .MARRIOTT gTLD.
It is in this stage that MWC also may implement its decision to extend registration rights to licensees and strategic partners, depending upon compliance with Specification 9, as noted above. The dates of such expansion are subject to change depending upon business, strategic, and industry factors at the time.
After consideration of the following factors: analysis of Marriott’s existing domain name portfolio; internal analysis of marketing initiatives; and the fact that MWC will have full control over the number of registrations in the .MARRIOTT gTLD namespace, MWC is confident that the number of domain name registrations will be less than 10,000 in the first five years of operation.
- Stage Four
Based on its experience during the initial stages of operation, and based on its experience with any expansion implemented in Stage 3, MWC will assess whether its business plan and expansion strategy should be augmented by extending registration rights to a broader class of licensees and⁄or strategic partners. It is anticipated by MWC that changes to the domain name industry, and particularly the impact of .BRAND gTLDs, will take at least five years to be realized and assessed. Any decision to expand the gTLD beyond qualified subsidiary and affiliate use will take into account this experience as well as the technical analysis of potential expansion.
The potential use of the .MARRIOTT gTLD by these or other business segments will also be driven by Marriott’s future business strategies as identified in its annual report and investor filings, see: http:⁄⁄investor.shareholder.com⁄mar⁄marriottAR10⁄index.html.
Utilizing current projections based upon Marriott’s existing businesses, future business plans, current domain name portfolio, and other strategic factors, MWC estimates second-level domain name registrations to be in line with the projections set forth in the financial template provided in the answer to Question 46 of this application.
18(b). How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
18.2 How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
MWC believes that a proposed .MARRIOTT gTLD has the potential to offer the following benefits to current and prospective guests searching for Marriott-branded content online:
-Establish a trusted source of information and online marketplace for the millions of guests searching for information about Marriott’s services and properties worldwide, for investors and third parties seeking information, and for the general Internet user population;
-Provide Marriott and potentially its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates with short and memorable Internet addresses, and provide increased navigation to property information, services, advertising campaigns, public interest content, public awareness initiatives, etc;
-Through the adoption of new gTLDs by the wider Internet user community, consumers may benefit from fewer incidences of phishing and malware often associated with mistypes of domain names in the .COM space that are owned by cybersquatters, since consumers will be navigating to domain names in the .MARRIOTT gTLD;
-Minimize the cost and need for defensive registrations because domain names within the .MARRIOTT gTLD will only be allocated by MWC to Marriott and potentially its qualified affiliates and subsidiaries; and
-Develop a potential platform for the secure access to, purchase of, and distribution of Marriott reservations and information to consumers, in order to minimize the potential for incidents of phishing and pharming.
Currently, Marriott operates a number of corporate websites using a combination of second-level and top-level domain names. A representative sampling of Marriott websites that incorporate geographical identifiers into the domain name include:
-MarriottWashington.com
-MarriottNYC.com
-MarriottCanada.com
-RenaissanceHollywood.com
-JWMarriottMexicoCity.com
-Marriott.co.jp
-Marriott.de
-Marriott.com.au
MWC believes that a .MARRIOTT gTLD can provide an online single-source identifying function for its current and future customers around the world, instead of the present mix-and-match approach that Marriott is currently forced to resort to as it expands into different global markets.
18.2.1 What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?
The primary mission and purpose of the .MARRIOTT gTLD is to provide a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive online marketplace to deliver Marriott-branded content to current and prospective guests worldwide. As Marriott continues to expand, the company will continue to pursue and develop opportunities to market and distribute its online content and products to guests throughout the world via various platforms, including the Internet and mobile devices. Consumers increasingly demand access to branded content, including Marriott’s, through a variety of channels, which include domain names. For this reason, Marriott believes that a .MARRIOTT gTLD has potential to provide an innovative, virtual avenue to Marriott-branded content that will deepen and broaden the company’s relationship with consumers.
Most importantly, MWC will be able to provide access to Marriott-branded information and online content in a namespace devoid of piracy, cybersquatting, and other malicious activities. Providing current and prospective guests with a trusted experience is paramount to MWC and its parent, Marriott International, Inc., and a .MARRIOTT gTLD will be used to further that goal.
While hospitality companies such as Marriott fight a never-ending battle to protect their brands online, a .MARRIOTT gTLD potentially offers a safe and intuitive means of accessing authorized content from Marriott and as well as from Marriott’s qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.
Marriott is supportive of existing anti-cybersquatting legislation and consumer protection measures, including the U.S. Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and others. As Marriott invests in expanding the domain name space through the establishment of a .MARRIOTT gTLD, it will also actively seek to prevent cybersquatting, fraud, phishing, and other malicious activities within the .MARRIOTT gTLD. Maintaining the highest standards within the .MARRIOTT gTLD will give MWC and its parent the opportunity to take a proactive approach to protecting intellectual property rights and fostering a safer online experience for all Internet users.
18.2.2 What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?
As a branded gTLD, the primary driving factors of a .MARRIOTT gTLD are differentiation and innovation.
The success of the gTLD will be measured not by the number of domain names registered, but rather by the level of consumer recognition and trust that is placed in the .MARRIOTT gTLD. Using this benchmark, MWC will strive to build consumer recognition and trust through usage of the .MARRIOTT gTLD that rises to the level found in the .EDU and .GOV gTLDs.
As noted above, Marriott is a leading global hospitality company that leverages numerous distribution channels and emerging technologies to deliver its online content to customers internationally. The .MARRIOTT gTLD has the potential to serve as a cornerstone of this online strategy.
18.2.3 What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
MWC believes that the .MARRIOTT gTLD will provide a single trusted ecosystem experience for the millions of current and prospective Marriott guests searching for information about the company’s offerings and making reservations for stays at Marriott properties worldwide. In addition, the gTLD will provide a trusted space for those seeking corporate information about Marriott, including investors and members of the press.
Guests will know that domains and content on .MARRIOTT are owned and controlled by Marriott, through MWC, and are thus more likely to be protected from infringing or harmful content.
The initial use of the .MARRIOTT gTLD will involve a limited number of second-level domain names. This initial use will provide MWC with the ability to ensure seamless and secure access to the Marriott website and interoperability with various software and Web and mobile-based applications. Once appropriate security and stability issues have been satisfactorily addressed, MWC will likely begin allocating domain names for internal corporate use and may redirect new .MARRIOTT domain names to pre-existing content. This phased rollout will likely take place over a multi-year period, subject to change depending upon a range of external factors.
At the same time, MWC will evaluate potential strategies to migrate traffic away from the current network of second-level domains registered in various TLDs to the .MARRIOTT gTLD, which offers the potential to provide customers with a single, trusted online source for Marriott brand products and services.
18.2.4 Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.
MWC currently intends for the .MARRIOTT gTLD to be used exclusively by Marriott, potentially its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, and possibly licensees and strategic partners in the following years. Because of this condition, and because the MARRIOTT brand is a valuable asset, the protection of which is paramount to the company, MWC intends to address registration and use requirements in its partner agreements, should it choose to provide domains to qualified subsidiaries, affiliates, and⁄or licensees and strategic partners, rather than in a domain name registration agreement.
MWC will, of course, incorporate all required ICANN consensus policies and other legal⁄policy requirements applicable to new gTLD applicants into the terms and conditions of the domain name registration agreement that each partner will execute.
18.2.5 Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.
As a global hospitality company, Marriott recognizes that this is an evolving area of law in which there are no international standards. Marriott respects the privacy of its guests and other consumers. The company employs a variety of physical, electronic, contractual, and managerial safeguards to protect personal and confidential information in its properties and on its websites. MWC will take similar precautions to protect registrant and user data associated with the .MARRIOTT gTLD.
MWC will ensure that the operation of the .MARRIOTT gTLD will be consistent with Marriottʹs Statement of Privacy Principles, see: http:⁄⁄www.marriott.com⁄marriott⁄privacy-us.mi.
In addition, MWC intends to incorporate contractual language in its Registry-Registrar Agreement (RRA) modeled after language which has been included in the template Registry Agreement and which has been successful utilized by existing ICANN gTLD Registry Operators.
The template Registry Agreement states “Registry Operator shall (i) notify each ICANN-accredited registrar that is a party to the registry-registrar agreement for the TLD of the purposes for which data about any identified or identifiable natural person (“Personal Data”) submitted to Registry Operator by such registrar is collected and used under this Agreement or otherwise and the intended recipients (or categories of recipients) of such Personal Data, and (ii) require such registrar to obtain the consent of each registrant in the TLD for such collection and use of Personal Data. Registry Operator shall take reasonable steps to protect Personal Data collected from such registrar from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration or destruction.
Registry Operator shall not use or authorize the use of Personal Data in a way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrars.ʺ
18.2.6 Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.
While Marriott sees the potential for the .MARRIOTT gTLD to play a large role in the company’s future online strategy, the extent of likely benefits is currently uncertain due to questions of user recognition, the adoption of new gTLDs, and the response from search engines in the marketplace that will influence the usage of the gTLD and communication about that usage.
As a first step, MWC plans to start using .MARRIOTT domains initially as redirects to existing .COM domains. As the aforementioned questions are answered over time, MWC may decide to initiate a targeted, pilot rollout using select .MARRIOT domains as primary addresses and, after careful analysis and study of this rollout, MWC may engage in a broader initiative, should the results be satisfactory and in accordance with the company’s overall strategic goals. The actual usage of .MARRIOTT domain names will dictate what public communications and consumer outreach is done to encourage navigation to the .MARRIOTT gTLD. This is not limited to, but may include advertising, media outreach, communications, email campaigns, etc.
18(c). What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?
18.3.1 What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?
MWC’s proposed operating rules to limit registration to Marriott, its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, and potentially its licensees and strategic partners will provide a trusted online environment for current and prospective guests to access Marriott’s online content, and by default, will minimize social costs. This verified ecosystem provides current and prospective guests with a single, trusted source for Marriott brand products and information with a substantially lower risk of fraud and⁄or scams. MWC does not anticipate user vulnerabilities. In addition, there is no need for other trademark and brand owners to defensively register second-level domains in the gTLD. In fact, MWC’s expectation is that the usage of a .MARRIOTT gTLD will eliminate some of the vulnerabilities that Marriott customers face in the wider Internet today.
18.3.2 What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences⁄costs imposed upon consumers?
MWC believes that the proposed operation of the .MARRIOTT gTLD as set forth in this application has no known negative consequences or cost implications to consumers.
On the contrary, the proposed operation of this registry will likely lead to direct benefits to consumers.
18.3.3 How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first-serve basis?
MWC does not envision multiple applicants for the same domain name, as domain names will only be allocated to Marriott, its qualified affiliates and subsidiaries, and potentially its licensees and strategic partners.
18.3.4 Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
MWC does not envision any pricing, introductory discounts, or bulk registration discounts because these marketing⁄commercial initiatives are inconsistent with the mission and purpose of the .MARRIOTT gTLD as a trusted online source identifier.
Moreover, it is the current intention of MWC to provide domain name registrations to Marriott, its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates, and potentially its licensees and strategic partners at no cost, though the company reserves the right to reevaluate this decision and may choose to impose a nominal fee in the future. Any potential registrant fees imposed upon qualified subsidiaries and affiliates and licensees and strategic partners will be decided in the future should this class of registrants be permitted to register domain names in the .MARRIOTT gTLD.
18.3.5 Note that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally, the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.
MWC is committed to providing the domain name registration periods set forth in the Registry Agreement. However, as noted above, as a branded gTLD, the registration and use of the domain name is conditioned upon a qualified subsidiary, affiliate, or licensee⁄strategic partner relationship with Marriott. Therefore, providing contractual commitments in a domain name registrant agreement regarding the magnitude of price escalations does not seem relevant or appropriate. Additionally, as noted above, the current business model envisions MWC providing domain name registrations to Marriott and potentially its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates and licensees and strategic partners at no cost or nominal cost.
MWC acknowledges that the current template Registry Agreement requires that the Registry Operator “shall offer registrars the option to obtain registration periods for one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar.” However, MWC will only be registering domain names for Marriott and potentially its qualified subsidiaries or affiliates and licensees and strategic partners on an annual basis.