Scotland

Bed and breakfast Guest Houses across Scotland could be breaking the law by stating that their accommodation includes a Jacuzzi. It is therefore vitally important that any such Scottish accommodation providers take note of this post!

You really need to ask yourself “is my Jacuzzi legal?” Now this might sound strange but, if you are like me, you may not have realised that the word ‘Jacuzzi’ is actually a fully registered brand name. So, unless you actually do own a Jacuzzi you should not use the brand name anywhere on your web site or literature. So go check your site and immediately change any such mention to something like ‘whirlpool bath’.  Otherwise you may find yourself in legal hot water.

The Jacuzzi company are currently issuing many threats to web sites that are falling foul of this little known fact. The fact that the companies brand name has become so widely known in association with whirlpool baths is credit to their marketing abilities but, in the same breath, it has also become part of the English language.

It is strange how such brand names become a common part of the English language. How many of us say we are going to ‘Hoover’ the living room or how many times have you asked your kids if they want a ‘coke’ or lemonade? The truth is that we should really say vacuum rather than ‘Hoover’ and cola instead of ‘Coke’ as Coke and Hoover are actually registered brand names.

Now in everyday life of course we are going to continue using such brand names in a generic fashion but the minute we commit such language to paper (or web page etc.) we really need to be 100% aware of such matters. If you have a Jacuzzi whirlpool bath in your B&B then it is fine to state this on your site but if the whirlpool bath is made by another company you may not, under any circumstances us the word Jacuzzi to describe it.

Now this might sound ridiculous to some but in the United Kingdom you could find yourself in very serious trouble if you use such words incorrectly. Imagine if you stated on a web page that all rooms had a Jacuzzi with other facilities such as a Hoover in every room and complimentary Coke in the mini fridge. You could, actually, find your self in court facing 4 complaints. 1 from Hoover, 1 from Coke, 1 from Jacuzzi and 1 from the customer who did not get exactly what was described in the contract!

So if you are an accommodation provider make sure that your descriptions are 100% accurate or you could find yourself in trouble. This year Jacuzzi have already approached a number of such web sites with threats of court action within 14 days if the mention of their brand name is not removed.

Now I am off to consult with my lawyers as to how many times I have been in breach of this in this article alone?