Holiday Inn

:This article is about the hotel chain; for the film, please see Holiday Inn (film).

History

The original Holiday Inn chain of hotels was founded in 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee by Kemmons Wilson to provide inexpensive family accommodation for travellers within the USA.

Related Topics:
Chain of hotels - 1952 - Memphis, Tennessee - Kemmons Wilson - USA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wilson initially came up with the idea after a family road trip to Washington, DC,during which he was disappointed by the quality and consistency provided by the roadside motels of that era. The name Holiday Inn was given to the original hotel by architect Eddie Bluestein as a joke, in reference to the Bing Crosby movie.

Related Topics:
Washington, DC - Eddie Bluestein - Bing Crosby - Movie

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The chain continued to grow, more or less following Wilson's original tenets of standardization and being family-friendly. By 1972, when Wilson was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, there were over 1,400 Holiday Inn hotels worldwide.

Related Topics:
1972 - Time Magazine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1988 Holiday Inns International was purchased by UK-based Bass Brewers (ultimately to become the InterContinental Hotels Group), followed by the remaining Holiday Inn hotels in 1990. The brand name Holiday Inn is still owned by the original Holiday Inn group and leased as a franchise to InterContinental.

Related Topics:
1988 - UK - Bass Brewers - 1990 - Franchise

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~