When the a gTLD .hotel is approved, ICANN will set forth rules and guidelines as well as a launch sequence which dictates who can register a new gTLD .hotel, when and under what conditions. The expected launch sequence will be:
- Trademark Sunrise .hotel — is a special period that provides current brand and trademarks owners the opportunity to secure their trademarks under the new top level domain. The fee for registration during this period is usually higher as trademarks will need to be verified and cleared.
- Landrush — a short registration period for entities and individuals who do not own a trademark in the name they wish to register. It is intended for highly sought-after generic .hotel domains and are usually priced significantly higher than registering during general availability. If more than one landrush application is received for the same .hotel domain, the .hotel domain will usually go to auction in which the applicants will have the chance to bid for the domain.
- General Availability — This phase is open to the general public and is a first-come, first served launch. When a .hotel domain is registered, it is officially reserved and registered in real time.
- Premium or Reserved Names — A registry can and will withhold .hotel domains names from open registrations that are considered premium domains, which are names that are highly desired or unique. These .hotel domains with this premium status will eventually be auctioned to the highest bidder.
