At the 39th International Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Afilias announced that it has been selected by dotHOTEL® as the registry services and DNS provider for its application to ICANN for the .hotel new top-level domain (new TLD). dotHOTEL is supported by the International Hotel and Restaurant Association, the world’s largest association of hospitality providers.

“We selected Afilias because of its superior experience with new TLDs and its ability to help ensure that .hotel reaches its maximum potential in the global domain name marketplace,” said Johannes Lenz-Hawliczek, co-founder of dotHOTEL. “Afilias has a long and distinguished track record of providing reliable registry and DNS services and hence ensures technically stable and reliable support for the launch and growth of the new global home for hotel services on the Internet.”

dotHOTEL will apply for the .hotel Internet extension when ICANN begins accepting applications for new TLDs, expected in the second quarter of 2011. The mission of dotHOTEL is to create a namespace of security, trust and credibility for the global hotel industry and its customers. dotHOTEL also plans to develop products and services to enhance the efficiency and convenience of marketing and e-commerce for hotels and their organizations worldwide.

“Afilias’ superior technology and expertise in supporting more successful ICANN applications and new TLD launches than any other provider will help ensure the success of dotHOTEL. We look forward to bringing this new TLD to market as both an attractive new TLD for registrars to sell and as a means for the global hotel industry to enhance their global online marketing,” said Roland LaPlante, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Afilias.

“The International Hotel & Restaurant Association fully supports this initiative,” said Dr. Ghassan Aidi, IH&RA President. “We are convinced that the creation of a .hotel namespace will be a significant step forward for our industry. We do believe that this is one of the best initiatives to unite the hospitality industry with electronic business under one label (.HOTEL).”

About dotHOTEL®
dotHOTEL (.hotel) is a new Top-Level Domain which is exclusively dedicated to hotels, their organizations and the hotel business worldwide. The initiative is being supported by hotel associations and hotel chains such as the International Hotel & Restaurant Association IH&RA, the Pacific Asia Travel Association PATA, the German Hotel Association IHA, Worldhotels or Design Hotels. For more information on dotHOTEL please visit www.dothotel.info.

About the IH&RA
The IH&RA is the only global business organization representing the hospitality industry worldwide. Officially recognized by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry, estimated to comprise 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants, employ 60 million people and contribute 950 billion USD annually to the global economy.