.cipriani New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Hotel Cipriani Srl
String: cipriani
Originally Posted: 13 June 2012
Application ID: 1-1837-53838
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Hotel Cipriani Srl
- Address of the principal place of business
Giudecca 10
Venice 30133
IT
- Phone number
440 203 117 1300
- Fax number
440 207 921 4777
- If applicable, website or URL
http:⁄⁄www.hotelcipriani.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Gretchen Olive
6(b). Title
Director of Policy & Industry Affairs
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
01 3026365401
6(e). Fax Number
01 3026365454
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Lucie Canfield
7(b). Title
eCommerce Development Manager
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
44 020 3117 1368
7(e). Fax Number
44 207 921 4777
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).
Italy
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.
Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. Hamilton, Bermuda
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
Francesco Delle Piane Director
James B. Sherwood Director
Martin OʹGrady Director
Maurizio Saccani Director
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Orient-Express Hotels Italia Srl (a subsidiary of Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.) 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.
cipriani
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.
Applicant anticipates the introduction of this TLD without operational or rendering problems. Based on a decade of experience launching and operating new TLDs, Afilias, the back-end provider of registry services for this TLD, is confident the launch and operation of this TLD 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 this TLD;
- 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 this TLD
- (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.
Applicant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orient Express Hotels, Ltd, a leading luxury hotel company and sophisticated adventure travel operator with exposure to both mature and emerging national economies. The Companyʹs predecessor began acquiring hotels in 1976 and organized the Company in 1995. The applicant and its affiliated entities currently owns or part-owns 49 properties (all of which it manages), consisting of 40 highly individual deluxe hotels, one stand-alone restaurant, six tourist trains and two river⁄canal cruise businesses. These are located in 24 countries worldwide. The applicant and its affiliated entities acquires or manages only very distinctive properties in areas of outstanding cultural, historic or recreational interest in order to provide luxury lifestyle experiences for the discerning traveler.
Hotels and restaurants represent the largest segment of the applicant and its affiliated entities’ business, contributing 86% of revenue in 2011, 78% of revenue in 2010 and 86% in 2009. Tourist trains and cruises accounted for 13% of revenue in 2011, 11% of revenue in 2010 and 13% in 2009. Property development activities accounted for the remaining revenue in each year. Approximately 82% of the applicant and its affiliated entities’s customers are leisure travelers, with approximately 33% of customers in 2011 originating from North America, 49% from Europe and the remaining 18% from elsewhere in the world.
The proposed .cipriani gTLD is a restricted, exclusively controlled TLD that would serve the purpose of enhancing and expanding the applicant and its affiliated entities’s ability to:
- create a connected digital presence and personalized brand experience for clients and business partners;
- deliver product and service marketing⁄advertising;
- enable marketing campaign activation;
- facilitate secure interaction and communication with individuals and entities with whom the applicant and its affiliated entities has a business relationship;
- improve business operations;
- simplify Internet user navigation to information about the applicant and its affiliated entities products and services;
- demonstrate market leadership in protecting customer privacy and confidential information online;
- validate ⁄ authenticate authorized agents of the applicant and its affiliated entities products;
- and
- meet future client expectations and competitive market demands.
18(b). How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
- What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?
- The goal of the proposed .cipriani gTLD in terms of specialty, service levels and reputation are:
o Specialty – In the course of its business with clients and members, highly-sensitive, personal and confidential information is collected and shared between authorized parties. To further demonstrate the applicant and its affiliated entities’ commitment and market leadership, customer service and client confidentiality, the applicant and its affiliated entities intends to utilize the .cipriani gTLD to create a restricted, exclusively controlled online environment for client⁄members and other business partners with the goal of further securing the collection and transmission of personal and other confidential data required for contracted services and other service delivery related activities.
o Service levels – One of the key goals of the proposed .cipriani gTLD is to create a restricted, exclusively controlled online environment for customers, authorized retailers and other business partners which will increase client confidence and trust in conducting business online. Through greater use of online tools by customers, the applicant and its affiliated entities expects to further streamline business processes, reduce turn-around times, provide more personalized service and improve overall client service delivery and satisfaction.
o Reputation – The applicant and its affiliated entities has a reputation of stellar client service, service innovation and market leadership. With the online channel growing in importance, one of the goals of the proposed .cipriani gTLD is to position the applicant and its affiliated entities to meet future customer expectations and competitive market demands to ensure it can continue to grow its reputation and sales in the hotel industry and in the global marketplace.
- What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?
- the applicant and its affiliated entities plans to operate the proposed .cipriani gTLD as a restricted, exclusively controlled TLD and as such will not be commercially offered for registration⁄use by the general public. Thus, the applicant and its affiliated entities will have exclusive ownership and control over all second-level registrations within the TLD and their use. As a result, we believe the proposed .cipriani gTLD wil add to the current names space in three (3) areas:
o Competition – As technology advances, so too do consumer and partner expectations of companies online. They expect that companies will utilize the latest and greatest technology and online practices to improve the user experience, protect their information and deliver quality service. the applicant and its affiliated entities anticipates that the proposed .cipriani gTLD will enable it to communicate, interact and protect data in ways and under conditions not possible under the existing namespace, thus enabling the applicant and its affiliated entities to meet future client expectations and competitive market demands.
o Differentiation – While today companies like the applicant and its affiliated entities can register brand strings at the second-level (e.g., orient-express.com), the proliferation of cybersquatting and typo squatting has placed a great burden on consumers to carefully conduct business online because there is no guarantee on the face of the domain name string that what looks like a branded website is indeed an authorized website of the brand owner. The proposed .cipriani gTLD will enable clients, authorized agents, other business partners and Internet users to distinguish on the face of the domain name alone whether the site is an authorized company site because the gTLD will be a restricted, exclusively controlled online environment where only authorized company web properties and e-mail will exist and operate online.
Innovation - The proposed .cipriani gTLD as a restricted, exclusively controlled TLD will provide the applicant and its affiliated entities with a new platform on which to build future innovation of its online brand presence.
- What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
- The Internet has been plagued by cybersquatting, typo squatting, phishing, pharming and identity theft scams. This malicious online conduct has shaken the trust and confidence of consumers to share information and transact business online. Thus, the proposed .cipriani gTLD has the following user experience goals:
o Simplify purchase and unify the full breadth of offline products and services offered by the applicant and its affiliated entities;
o Improve and streamline manner in which customers, authorized retailers and other business partners can interact with the applicant and its affiliated entities in the online digital space;
o Foster trust and confidence in online interactions by customers, authorized agents and other business partners with the applicant and its affiliated entities;
o Reduce the risk of Internet users being misled, believing and⁄or acting on erroneous, information about the applicant and its affiliated entities, its authorized agents, other business partners and⁄or its products and services presented online by unauthorized 3rd parties; and
o Simplify online navigation to the applicant and its affiliated entities products, services and affiliate information.
- Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.
The proposed gTLD will be a restricted, exclusively controlled gTLD where only Applicant, affiliated entities and authorized business partners will be permitted to register second-level domains for Applicant business purposes only for a term of one to ten years. Affiliated entities who are part of the same corporate organization as the Applicant who seek registrations for second-level names under the TLD will be required to present evidence in writing to accredited registrar(s) for the TLD demonstrating explicit authorization from an officer of the Applicant company to register second-level names within the TLD to protect against unauthorized registration within the TLD by unaffiliated third parties. Applicants and affiliated entities owned and⁄or controlled by the same corporate parent company will supply corporate contact and ownership information, not personal information, for each registration obtained under the TLD for display in the TLD WHOIS.
To the extent second-level domain names are ever registered to Applicant’s business partners and⁄or affiliates that are not owned by Applicant or its corporate parent company, registrants will be required to execute a registration agreement that incorporates all required ICANN consensus policies and other legal⁄policy requirements imposed on new gTLD applicants into the terms and conditions of the domain name registration agreement. Such registration may also be subject to additional terms and conditions under separate business partner and⁄or affiliate agreements with Applicant entity. Registrations by business partners or affiliates not owned by Applicant or its corporate parent company will require written, pre-approval by designated individual(s) at Applicant company, must provide corporate contact information, not personal information, for WHOIS purposes and must be made with Applicant’s registrar of choice. Registrants must not use the domain name in any way that may damage or diminish Applicants brand reputation, business relationships or other business interests. Failure to do any of the above, will result in the immediate suspension of registrant’s registration agreement and⁄or all deletion of all domain names currently registered in the TLD.
- 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.
Some initial thoughts -- The proposed .cipriani gTLD will be a restricted, exclusively controlled TLD where the applicant and its affiliated entities will have exclusive control. Corporate contact information will be clearly listed in the WHOIS record for each registration within the TLD. Thus, there are no measures that need to be proposed to protect the privacy or confidential registration information of registrants⁄users of the TLD.
Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.
Prior to using the proposed .cipriani gTLD for product and service marketing⁄advertising, marketing campaign activation, interaction and communication with individuals and entities with whom the applicant and its affiliated entities has a business relationship, and⁄or implementing new online navigation strategies, the applicant and its affiliated entities anticipates conducting a multi-faceted outreach and communications campaign that will likely involve all communication channels, including but not limited to, mobile, print, social media, direct mail, online advertising and marketing via our active, client and affiliate-facing websites and other public relations activities to:
- Further communicate the applicant and its affiliated entities’s commitment to online consumer safety and data privacy;
- Inform the market of the applicant and its affiliated entities’s ownership and planned use of the proposed .cipriani gTLD;
- Clearly define the expected benefits to customers, prospective customers, contractors, other business partners and Internet users at large.
Future outreach and communications campaigns will be carried out as needed to reaffirm and clarify the above. The applicant and its affiliated entities believe outreach and communication will be critical to building trust and confidence in the legitimacy of the TLD.
18(c). What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs?
- How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come⁄first serve basis?
- There will not be multiple applications for a particular domain in the proposed .cipriani TLD because this will be a exclusively controlled TLD were only 1 party, the applicant and its affiliated entities, will be able to seek registrations.
- Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
- This question is not applicable to an exclusively controlled TLD, like the proposed .cipriani TLD.
- 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.
- The proposed .cipriani TLD will be a self-funded, exclusively controlled TLD available only to the applicant and its affiliated entities. Thus, there will be no per domain name registration cost incurred by any party for this TLD and thus, no price changes and⁄or escalations for which registrants will need to be notified.