Kemmons Wilson and the Holiday Inn Story

Kemmons Wilson and the Holiday Inn Story

Kemmons Wilson is not only one of Memphis' most well-known businessmen, but also a national success story. Cashing in on America's postwar mobility and newfound disposable income, Wilson's Holiday Inns revolutionized the tourism industry in the 1950s.

It all began for Wilson back in 1951, when he took his family on a trip to Washington, D.C. in the family car. At the time, most hotels were scant on amenities. No standards existed for cleanliness, design, or rates, so finding a decent motel was a rather hit-or-miss affair. Most also charged surcharges for children, in addition to their advertised nightly rate. Wilson returned to Memphis, determined to do something about what he saw as an obvious void in the American Travel experience.

When he returned home to Memphis, Wilson contacted a draftsman friend of his to draw up some plans for a new hotel. While he was sketching, draftsman Eddie Bluestien was watching Bing Crosby's Holiday Inn on television, and the name worked its way onto the top of the blueprints. Wilson liked it, and the name stuck.

In 1952, he opened his first Holiday Inn on Summer Avenue in Memphis. It had 120 rooms, and became the prototype for all future Holiday Inns. In the next few years, he built three more in the Memphis area. Each had a swimming pool, restaurant, air conditioning, and clean, well-lighted rooms. Wilson also made sure that children stayed free. Knowing that his idea could be implemented on a national scale, Wilson teamed up with Wallace Johnson, a man whom The Saturday Evening Post had called "The Henry Ford of the home building industry," and began Holiday Inns of America, Inc. in 1954. Through the sale of franchises nationwide, Wilson took his vision of a quality room at a fair price across America. By the end of the decade, there were 157 Holiday Inns nationwide. Ten years later, that number would increase more than tenfold. Today, Holiday Inn is a global enterprise, with locations around the world.