Skift Take
Airbnb clearly was on weak ground against HomeAway in this trademark lawsuit, and apparently withdrew the campaign. The gloves are off, however, and the two rivals can expect to see their competition against one another get nastier in coming years.
UPDATE: HomeAway confirmed its lawsuit against Airbnb is “settled.”
Airbnb’s first national advertising campaign has come to a halt after a lawsuit by rival vacation rental giant HomeAway. HomeAway filed suit last week accusing Airbnb of misappropriating its birdhouse trademark for the campaign. Over the weekend Airbnb pulled the advertisement.
Airbnb’s Birdbnb website is no longer functional, and a copy of the advertisement that was originally available here, has been turned “private” by Airbnb.
The competition between HomeAway’s vacation rentals and Airbnb’s apartment shares has become more intense as Airbnb has begun moving into resort destinations, which HomeAway views as its prime target market.
Airbnb and HomeAway separately didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Tags: airbnb, homeaway, lawsuits
Photo credit: One of the birdhouses built for the Birdbnb promotion. Airbnb