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Marriott brands e-marketing practices as trademark abuse

October 24, 2005 |

As Travel Weekly reports, Marriott International is introducing sweeping new policies to curb what it sees as abuse of its trademarks. The move will alter the way online and offline travel sellers market the chain’s rooms.

Travel Weekly reports, that Marriott International is introducing sweeping new policies to curb what it sees as abuse of its trademarks. The move will alter the way online and offline travel sellers market the chain’s rooms.

The guidelines, backed by a range of enforcement actions, stipulate that “an online travel company may not use any Marriott trademark in the text or title of any paid search ad.”

This would apply to paid ads in search engines such as Yahoo and Google, travel research Web sites such as Expedia’s TripAdvisor and USBestHotels.com, and comparison shopping sites such as NexTag or Sidestep, the guidelines note.

Online travel companies, according to Marriott’s rules, “may not bid on keyword terms containing Marriott trademarks, whether alone or in conjunction with other terms.”

The guidelines go beyond paid search ads. For example, Web sites and Web pages must comply with Marriott’s Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee and are barred from using Marriott trademarks in tandem with such phrases as “substantial discounts,” “online exclusive rates,” “lowest prices,” “special rates” and “save 70%.”

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