As rooms are filling up for Family Weekend, tension builds between the Brunswick Inn and the Inn at Brunswick Station, two popular hotels within walking distance of the College. The two hotels are preparing to face each other in federal court in the coming weeks.
The three-day trial will resolve a long-standing argument over naming and trademark infringement that began when the Inn at Brunswick Station first opened its doors in 2011.
The similarity between the two hotels’ names has caused a great deal of confusion among visitors, and, in some cases, Brunswick community members, according to the Portland Press Herald.
There have been numerous reports of guests accidentally showing up at the wrong hotel and delivery trucks dropping off goods to the wrong inn. According to the Press Herald, the Brunswick Fire Department once responded to a fire alarm at the wrong hotel.
Eileen Horner, owner of the Brunswick Inn, first decided to file a case against the Inn at Brunswick Station in March 2012 after the new hotel repeatedly denied her requests to change its name, the Press Herald reports. The Inn at Brunswick Station originally planned to open as either the Inn at Maine Street Station or the Maine Street Station Inn, but decided to change its name at the last minute.
Horner and representatives of the Inn at Brunswick Station were unable to provide comments for legal reasons; their attorneys could not be reached for comment.