Yosemite Park To Change Historic Lodge Names To Avoid Trademark Fight

"Yosemite National Park officials, looking to avoid a costly trademark fight with DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, announced Thursday that they would change the names of iconic lodges in the park. The Ahwahnee Hotel, for instance, would be known going forward as the Majestic Yosemite Hotel.

DNC Parks & Resorts officials quickly fired back, charging the Park Service with "using the beloved names of places in Yosemite National Park as a bargaining chip in a legal dispute between DNCY and the NPS involving basic contract rights."

Yosemite officials said they had no option but to change the names with the transition in concessionaires coming March 1, when an Aramark subsidiary, Yosemite Hospitality, LLC, takes over from DNC."

Kurt Repanshek reports for National Parks Traveler January 14, 2016.