SPOKANE — Red Lion Hotels’ parent company is suing Hard Rock Cafe International, saying the hotel chain has copied plans for its brand aimed at millennials.
Spokane-based RLH Corp. filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New York. Hard Rock Cafe officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Red Lion debuted its hotel brand targeting millennials two years ago. The concept, designed by The Gettys Group, features a coffee bar with trained baristas in the lobby, a stage for local artists and civic events with stadium-like seating and tech-savvy front desks that allow guests to check in at kiosks, if they prefer. In the lawsuit, Red Lion accuses Hard Rock Cafe of launching a competing line of hotels aimed at millennials, called Reverb, with a knockoff design. The Gettys Group also designed the Reverb hotels, the suit said.
“While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery … we are not appreciative of Hard Rock’s wholesale infringement of our trade dress with The Gettys Group’s help,” Greg Mount, RLH Corp.’s president and chief executive, said in a news release.
