On August 17, 1968, Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inn, opened the chain’s 1,000th location in San Antonio, Texas. In the 16 years since Wilson launched the brand with his first property in Memphis, Tennessee, he had transformed the lowly motel—a segment of the lodging industry desperate for respect—into an attractive destination that travelers actually sought out on their road trips. The result was a nationwide chain bringing in $404.9 million in revenue, with plenty of room to grow.
The hallmark of a Holiday Inn stay was a clean and positive experience for families and business travelers alike. Properties were often found next to interstate highways, and the chain’s growth coincided with the highway system’s rapid expansion by the federal government. Wilson was proactive with the brand’s franchisers, providing construction guidance and making sure the company provided new managers and owners of franchises with an in-depth education in the lodging business. By 1969, this led to the creation of Holiday Inn University, a $3 million learning facility in Memphis.
Another key to the brand’s rapid revenue growth was its core set of values that were reinforced with rigorous franchise rules. Wilson maintained a high level of control over Holiday Inn’s branded properties and maintained consistency across locations through an in-house supply company. To keep up with the rapid growth of the brand, he tasked computer giant IBM with developing Holidex, the first chain-wide computerized reservation system, so travelers could make instant reservations at any Holiday Inn location via teleprinter. Holidex initially supplied reservations from other hotels and then soon after from a call center, connecting the Memphis headquarters to individual Holiday Inns across the country, all of which was cutting edge for the 1960s. Holidex continued to evolve over the years and remained in operation across the brand until 2012.
At the San Antonio opening in 1968, Wilson predicted Holiday Inn would open 3,000 international locations in the following decade. Four years later, Wilson appeared on the cover of Time magazine as “The Man with 300,000 Beds.” However, the rest of the decade proved a challenge to the entire lodging industry. The oil shocks that began in 1973 sent gasoline prices skyrocketing, reducing travel. The economic recession that followed further dampened the industry, and low-cost Holiday Inn imitators drove room rates further down.
Shortly after Wilson retired in 1979, the company decided to phase out the great sign that had greeted guests since the launch of the brand, opting for something more simple and streamlined. It was the end of an era. Holiday Inn was acquired by UK-based Bass in 1988, joining a number of other brands under one corporate umbrella that would eventually become InterContinental Hotels Group. However, Holiday Inn’s explosive entry into the lodging industry would leave an impression for a long time to come.
Mark Young, PhD, is director of the Hospitality Industry Archives at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management, University of Houston.
