.盛貿飯店 Domain

THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE NEW RESTRICTED .盛貿飯店 gTLD IS TO BENEFIT INTERNET USERS BY ENSURING INCREASED TRUST AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH THE ELIMINATION OF USER CONFUSION AND ASSURANCE OF BRAND AUTHENTICITY.

The new .盛貿飯店 gTLD ("tradershotels" in traditional Chinese) will operate as a restricted registry, in which Shangri-La International Hotel Management Limited (Shangri-La International) can create and control domain spaces within .盛貿飯店 that promote its Traders Hotels brand. In this regard, the .盛貿飯店 will be used by Shangri-La International to provide information, services and resources regarding Traders Hotels to consumers in a way that promotes trust, confidence and convenience. The .盛貿飯店 gTLD will provide an authoritative internet space for Shangri-La International, its affiliates and partners that are associated with the Traders Hotels brand. Second and third level domains can then be utilised for localised booking services and for communication and marketing purposes, with internet users assured of brand authenticity.

Traders Hotels are a brand of hotels owned, operated and/or managed by Shangri-La International. Shangri-La International opened the first Traders Hotel in Beijing in 1989 and currently operates 13 Traders Hotels in 8 countries across Asia and the Middle East. This is expected to expand to 9 countries in the near future. Shangri-La International, trading as Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, is a global group that owns, operates and/or manages five-star hotels and resorts across the world. Shangri-La International, established in 1984, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Asia Limited (Shangri-La Asia). Shangri-La Asia, listed on the Hong Kong and Singapore Stock Exchanges and traded as American Depositary Receipts (ADR) in the US, had revenue in 2010 of nearly USD1.6 billion and a market capitalisation of approximately USD42 billion. Shangri-La Asia has over 33,000 employees and around 30,000 guest rooms across its suite of hotels. The Traders Hotels brand offers a vibrant yet professional environment which caters to more value-conscious, savvy business travellers. In this regard, consumer trust, continuous innovation and protection of the Traders Hotels brand are paramount considerations in all its activities. The new .盛貿飯店 gTLD will promote the Traders Hotels brand in Chinese speaking countries and maintain Shangri-La International's strong online presence. These objectives will be further complemented by Shangri-La International's separate applications for the .tradershotels and .盛贸饭店 ("tradershotels" in simplified Chinese).

Business activities are increasingly conducted over the internet, allowing for greater levels of interaction between businesses and customers. As a result, both businesses and end users benefit from ease of interaction and a wider range of choices with lower transaction costs. However, the development in this arena in the current domain name system has exposed both businesses and consumers to increased criminal activities over the internet, including data breach, hacking and phishing. These sophisticated criminal activities cause reputational damage to businesses as internet users lose consumer confidence and trust with the businesses targeted by such criminal activities. The .盛貿飯店 gTLD will facilitate greater trust and assurance from internet users connecting with Shangri-La International online, whilst still allowing convenient and efficient interaction.

Shangri-La International's mission and purpose of the proposed new gTLD share ICANN's initiatives to promote public interest. Shangri-La International is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN's Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:
-consumer trust: the .盛貿飯店 gTLD registry will be operated in a centralised manner with a restrictive registration policy. Registration of domain names will only be available to Shangri-La International and its affiliate and associated entities, at this stage, which will provide added consumer trust that .盛貿飯店 domain names are trustworthy. As .盛貿飯店 domain names are subject to registration standards, policies and procedures under Shangri-La International's control, this eliminates the possibility of malicious conduct within the .盛貿飯店 domain space;
-competition: the proposed new gTLD is not intended to instigate competition and consumer choice at the level of registration of domain names among prospective registrants. Instead it is anticipated to contribute to ICANN's initiatives to promote public interest through its operation focussed on promoting consumer trust. Increased trust in .盛貿飯店 gTLD will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs; and
-consumer choice: the proposed new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements and innovations assisting Shangri-La International's marketing efforts through its ability to create new second and third level domain names on demand. These names will provide the consumers with more choices for interacting with Shangri-La International. As Shangri-La International has effective control over the registration and use of domain names under .盛貿飯店 domain space, this will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet.

Given the restricted nature of the .盛貿飯店 gTLD, the projected number of registration is likely to be limited. It is anticipated that around 20 domain names will be registered in the first year. Over the next few years, the number of registrations is likely to increase to about 50 domain names as Shangri-La International develops and implements new services and marketing campaigns.

As the new .盛貿飯店 gTLD expands and evolves, Shangri-La International will continue to comply with all operational, technical and policy requirements, as well as maintaining consumer trust and the stability of the internet. Shangri-La International will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to .盛貿飯店 gTLD including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.

Shangri-La International intends to create relevant domain names for use including product, services or geographic names in the second or third level domain names. In accordance with registration policy and the proposed measures for protection of geographic names as outlined in response to Question 22, Shangri-La International will use geographic names to localise its websites in countries in which it currently operates the Traders Hotels brand. It is anticipated that the number of geographic names used at the second and third level will increase as Shangri-La International expands the Traders Hotels brand into new cities and countries. The use of geographic names is intended to:
- connect internet users with relevant information as applicable to the territory; and
- comply with required rules and regulations in the national territory

Shangri-La International will also utilise Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) at the second level, initially in Chinese language. The use of IDNs will allow internet users to engage with .盛貿飯店 in their native language, creating a more positive user experience and encouraging diversity. As the use of the .盛貿飯店 gTLD evolves, it is anticipated that the use of IDNs, including additional languages, will increase within the .盛貿飯店 domain space.

Traders Hotels is a well-recognised brand in Asia with its "盛貿飯店" trademark registered in 6 countries and territories in traditional Chinese characters for 6 categories, including: Entertainment Services (Class 41); Restaurant and Hospitality Services (Class 43); and Medical, Hygienic and Beauty Care Services (Class 44).
Further, Shangri-La International has 2 existing domain names with an exact match to the "盛貿飯店" trademark in 盛貿飯店.公司 (IDN.com) and 盛貿飯店.中國 (IDN.cn).×