.inn
Is .inn a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.inn is contested: 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. They are XYZ Registry, Identity Digital and NextGEN TLDs. TLD Empire named .inn as a backup string for its .xxl application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. ShortDot named .inn as a backup string for its .ace application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A niche TLD for independent inns, B&Bs, boutique hotels and pub-with-rooms operators wanting a short, descriptive web address, plus a small set of brand-hack buyers (names ending in or playing on "inn").
Who is applying, and how much each already runs
Three of the 5 are tied to a registry that runs TLDs today. Identity Digital, XYZ Registry and ShortDot filed 395 applications between them across the round.
The nearest 2012 strings, and how many names each holds today
The closest 2012 string, .hotels, held 2 names, June 2026. .villas held 7,685. Chosen by AI from every string in the 2012 round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet in its purest form: a singular generic English lodging noun that a property owner would hang their primary identity on, dependent on independent operators paying to re-anchor a name they already own elsewhere.
Same category-noun-for-lodging bet, just in the plural aggregator register that pulls in booking sites and multi-property groups alongside the individual accommodation.
The nearest analogue to .inn's narrowness — a lodging-type noun for a specific, smaller class of accommodation rather than the head term, betting that a sub-segment of independent operators wants its own word rather than the generic one.
independent inns, B&Bs, boutique hotels and pub-with-rooms operators wanting a short, descriptive web address, plus a small set of brand-hack buyers (names ending in or playing on "inn")
What a .inn domain is
.inn is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Commerce category. 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .inn domain extension real yet?
.inn is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .inn domain?
You can’t yet. A .inn name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens.
Is .inn a real TLD?
Not yet. .inn is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .inn is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- TLD Empire · first recordedICANN
- ShortDot · now deactivated backupICANN
- ShortDot · now abandonedICANN
- 3 applicants · first recordedICANN
- ShortDot · now announced
- ShortDot · first recordedShortDot (Ireland) Limited
“NTG2671T-T37544 · NextGEN TLDs GmbH · primary · contention set 2026-120 VTL2632T-T14662 · Velvet Taupe, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-120 XL2625T-T91340 · XYZ.COM LLC · primary · contention set 2026-120”ICANN
The source’s 5 linesHide the lines
NA2626T-T30508 · ShortDot (Ireland) Limited · replacement string of .ace · Deactivated NTG2671T-T37544 · NextGEN TLDs GmbH · primary · contention set 2026-120 TEPL2694T-T19061 · TLD EMPIRE PTY LTD · replacement string of .xxl · Deactivated VTL2632T-T14662 · Velvet Taupe, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-120 XL2625T-T91340 · XYZ.COM LLC · primary · contention set 2026-120
“ShortDot (Ireland) Limited has submitted 40 applications to ICANN's 2026 New gTLD Program. The 80 strings shown include applied-for and designated replacement strings across ShortDot's 40 ICANN applications, presented without revealing their status or pairing.”ShortDot (Ireland) Limited
- Band chosen: 30-49 (usable but limited). .inn is a short, real dictionary word with a clearly defined buyer group — small lodging businesses — so it has a coherent meaning and can plausibly be registered at volume on price, which keeps it above the 10-29 vanity band. It is not in the 50-69 band because, by analogy (flagged as analogy), hospitality-descriptor gTLDs such as .pub, .bar, .rest and .restaurant have not become primary identities for the businesses they describe: small lodging operators mostly keep a .com and rely on booking platforms and map listings for discovery, so the TLD adds little credibility and the aftermarket is thin. The catalog operator's disclosed portfolio (.icu, .cyou, .bond, .cfd, .sbs) suggests a low-price, volume-oriented go-to-market, which by analogy tends to produce registration counts rather than end-use identity — that cuts both ways for the score and is neutral on the string itself. Main market uncertainty: whether the namespace is positioned and priced as a curated hospitality address (raising primary-identity use) or as a general low-cost string (raising volume but diluting brand signal).