Changes

"The .rest gTLD will provide an online zone for restaurants and corollary entities and services worldwide, and it will allow these entities to register names that are appropriate to their business name or service offering. The .rest gTLD will provide innumerable benefits to the entire restaurant universe (consumers and the industry alike) by providing simple, easily identifiable, and intuitive domain names for restaurants, restaurant guides, restaurant associations, food and restaurant critics, bloggers, chefs, restaurant groups, sites and services for restaurant employees, and other restaurant-related entities. It will provide a designated namespace where these entities can register domain names related to restaurants and the restaurant industry and where consumers can search for and easily locate them. Its use will include but not be limited to websites, emails, online applications, online transactions, social media, directories and any new usages of domain names.

"The .rest gTLD will provide an online zone for restaurants and corollary entities and services worldwide, and it will allow these entities to register names that are appropriate to their business name or service offering. The .rest gTLD will provide innumerable benefits to the entire restaurant universe (consumers and the industry alike) by providing simple, easily identifiable, and intuitive domain names for restaurants, restaurant guides, restaurant associations, food and restaurant critics, bloggers, chefs, restaurant groups, sites and services for restaurant employees, and other restaurant-related entities. It will provide a designated namespace where these entities can register domain names related to restaurants and the restaurant industry and where consumers can search for and easily locate them. Its use will include but not be limited to websites, emails, online applications, online transactions, social media, directories and any new usages of domain names.

The restaurant industry (and the hospitality industry in general) is growing worldwide, and according to some sources is expected to be worth US$2.1 trillion by 2015; however, newly launched restaurants fight (and often don’t succeed) to obtain an appropriate domain name in the current TLD space. With 7 out of 10 eating-and-drinking establishments in the US alone being single unit operations– and with web presences becoming increasingly important both as business drivers (via online reservations and home delivery order services, for example) and sources of information about restaurants and the restaurant industry– it is crucial that a new domain is launched to address and service this growing and underserved market. The National Restaurant Association (USA) 2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast revealed the importance of an internet presence for restaurants, with 6 out of 10 adults indicating that they have ʺused the internet to visit a restaurant website, view a menu, or find out more about a restaurant they havenʹt been to beforeʺ (p. 31). This same report indicated that 36% of adults have placed dine-in, carry-out, or delivery orders online, 27% have made reservations online, and a further 27% have posted or read restaurant reviews on consumer-driven websites. Additionally, 53% of adults (and 68% of 18 - 34 year olds) revealed that they would be interested in placing their order online in advance. These figures clearly demonstrate the significant potential that the .rest domain holds for restaurants and the general public: being in possession of a short, appropriate, and easily locatable domain name will not only be vital for restaurants hoping to attract customers in a competitive environment but also provide a vital platform for innovation and key services to a general public hungry for access to restaurant-related information online.

The restaurant industry (and the hospitality industry in general) is growing worldwide, and according to some sources is expected to be worth US$2.1 trillion by 2015; however, newly launched restaurants fight (and often don’t succeed) to obtain an appropriate domain name in the current TLD space. With 7 out of 10 eating-and-drinking establishments in the US alone being single unit operations– and with web presences becoming increasingly important both as business drivers (via online reservations and home delivery order services, for example) and sources of information about restaurants and the restaurant industry– it is crucial that a new domain is launched to address and service this growing and underserved market. The National Restaurant Association (USA) 2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast revealed the importance of an Internet presence for restaurants, with 6 out of 10 adults indicating that they have ʺused the Internet to visit a restaurant website, view a menu, or find out more about a restaurant they havenʹt been to beforeʺ (p. 31). This same report indicated that 36% of adults have placed dine-in, carry-out, or delivery orders online, 27% have made reservations online, and a further 27% have posted or read restaurant reviews on consumer-driven websites. Additionally, 53% of adults (and 68% of 18 - 34 year olds) revealed that they would be interested in placing their order online in advance. These figures clearly demonstrate the significant potential that the .rest domain holds for restaurants and the general public: being in possession of a short, appropriate, and easily locatable domain name will not only be vital for restaurants hoping to attract customers in a competitive environment but also provide a vital platform for innovation and key services to a general public hungry for access to restaurant-related information online.

By offering a zone specifically designed for and dedicated to this industry and the billions of consumers that patronise it, the .rest gTLD will provide increased consumer choice (opening up new and appropriate domain names both in ASCII and extended Latin IDN scripts), a reduction in the price spent on obtaining domain names (circumventing the exorbitant fees charged for valuable domains on the secondary market in the traditional TLD space), and improved user experience (allowing consumers to easily locate the domain name for which they are searching because of the intuitive domain name and capacity for registration in their local language).

By offering a zone specifically designed for and dedicated to this industry and the billions of consumers that patronise it, the .rest gTLD will provide increased consumer choice (opening up new and appropriate domain names both in ASCII and extended Latin IDN scripts), a reduction in the price spent on obtaining domain names (circumventing the exorbitant fees charged for valuable domains on the secondary market in the traditional TLD space), and improved user experience (allowing consumers to easily locate the domain name for which they are searching because of the intuitive domain name and capacity for registration in their local language).