BC Airbnb Says It's Changing The Name Of Its 'Hobbit' Hideaway After Warner Bros. Threats
A type of threat that Bilbo Baggins never had to deal with.
The owners of a hobbit house Airbnb in B.C. say they have had to change its name due to a Lord of the Rings copyright issue with Warner Bros. Entertainment.
The owners of the Airbnb in Bridesville, B.C., announced on Saturday that they'd changed the rental's name from "Hobbitmountain Hole" to "Second Breakfast Hideaway" after they were threatened by Warner Bros. The company told them that the word "Hobbit" was copyrighted and could not be used in the Airbnb's name, according to an Instagram post from Wednesday, May 19.
"Alright then, the word war is on. If those big multi billion businesses must get their daily satisfactions from attacking small independent people and businesses then so be it," the post said.
The rental — which is sized for humans, not hobbits — has been modelled to look like it's been plucked straight from Middle-earth, with its circular front door, a roaring (electric) fire and Elvish on the walls.
Narcity reached out to Warner Bros. for comment but did not immediately hear back before publication.