Red Lion Sues Hard Rock Hotels for Infringement in Race to Win Over Millennials
Photo Credit: The Living Stage at the Hotel RL in Baltimore, Maryland. Red Lion Hotels is suing competitor Hard Rock International, alleging that Hard Rock's new Reverb brand copies its own Hotel RL brand. Red Lion Hotels Corporation / Red Lion Hotels
Skift Take
There are literally only so many ways you can appeal to Millennials in hotel design, and copycats are inevitable. That's why hospitality really can be a “me too” industry, as hotelier Ian Schrager so often laments.
When it comes to appealing to Millennials — of which there are now 75.4 million in the United States alone — hotel companies are doing all they can to launch wallet-friendly, yet still-stylish accommodations that emphasize such features as co-working spaces, communal stadium seating, artisanal goods, and craft beers.
Often classified as midscale hotels, these brands include the new Tru by Hilton and Marriott’s Moxy, for example. And there are more of these brands in the works: Trump Hotels’ American Idea, for one, and InterContinental Hotels Group’s yet-to-be-named one.
And now, one U.S. hotel company is suing another in an effort to either protect its intellectual property rights or keep the competition at bay, depending on your perspective.
On July 12, Red Lion Hotels Corporation (RLHC) filed a lawsuit against Hard Rock International for “trade dress infringement, injury to business reputation, and unfair competition.”
RLHC alleges that Hard Rock’s newest
