Holiday Inn
Encyclopedia
Holiday Inn is a brand
of hotel
s, formally a economy motel
chain, forming part of the British
InterContinental Hotels Group
(IHG). It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline. There are 100 million guest nights each year, globally.
initially came up with the idea after a family road trip to Washington, D.C.
, during which he was disappointed by the quality and consistency provided by the roadside motels of the time. The name Holiday Inn was given to the original hotel by his architect Eddie Bluestein as a joke, in reference to the Bing Crosby movie
. The first Holiday Inn opened at 4941 Summer Avenue in Memphis, the main highway to Nashville, in August 1952. The motel was demolished in the early 1990s, but there is a plaque commemorating the site.
Wilson partnered with Wallace E. Johnson to build additional motels on the by roads entering Memphis. Holiday Inn's corporate headquarters was in a converted plumbing shed owned by Johnson in 1953, when the company built its first four hotels, one covering each approach to Memphis. On the occasion of Johnson's death, Wilson was quoted as saying, "The greatest man I ever knew died today. He was the greatest partner a man could ever have."
Together they started what Wilson would shepherd into Holiday Corp., one of the world's largest hotel groups.
In 1957, Wilson franchised the chain as Holiday Inn of America and it grew dramatically, following Wilson's original tenet that the properties should be standardized, clean, predictable, family-friendly and readily accessible to road travellers. By 1958, there were 50 locations across the country, 100 by 1959, 500 by 1964, and the 1000th Holiday Inn opened in San Antonio, Texas, in 1968. The chain dominated the motel market, leveraged its innovative Holidex reservation system, put considerable financial pressure on traditional hotels and set the standard for its competitors, like Ramada
Inns, Quality Inn, Howard Johnson's
, and Best Western
. By June 1972, when Wilson was featured on the cover of Time
magazine, there were over 1,400 Holiday Inn hotels worldwide. Innovations like the company's Holidome indoor pools turned many hotels into roadside resorts.
In the 1960s, Holiday Inn began franchising and opening campgrounds under the Holiday Inn Travel-L-Park brand. These recreational campgrounds were listed in the Holiday Inn directories.
The company later branched into other enterprises, including Medi-Center nursing homes, Continental Trailways
, Delta Queen
, and Show-Biz, Inc., a television production company that specialized in syndicated
country music
shows. Wilson also later developed the Orange Lake Resort and Country Club near Orlando and a chain called Wilson World Hotels. The family of founder Kemmons Wilson still operates hotels as part of the Kemmons Wilson Companies of Memphis. Wilson retired from Holiday Inn in 1979.
Although still a healthy company, changing business conditions and demographics saw Holiday Inn lose its market dominance in the 1980s. Holiday Inns, Inc. was renamed "Holiday Corporation" in 1985 to reflect the growth of the company’s brands, including Harrah's Entertainment
, Embassy Suites Hotels
, Crowne Plaza
, Homewood Suites by Hilton
and Hampton Inn
. In 1988, Holiday Corporation was purchased by UK
-based Bass PLC
(the owners of the Bass beer brand), followed by the remaining domestic Holiday Inn hotels in 1990, when founder Wilson sold his interest, after which the hotel group was known as Holiday Inn Worldwide. The remainder of Holiday Corporation (including the Embassy Suites Hotels
, Homewood Suites by Hilton
and Hampton Inn
brands) was spun off to shareholders as Promus Companies Incorporated
. In 1990, Bass launched Holiday Inn Express, a complementary brand in the limited service segment.
In 1994, Bass launched Crowne Plaza, a move into the upscale hotel market. In 1997, Bass created and launched a new hotel brand, Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn, entering the North American upscale extended stay market. In March 1998, Bass acquired the InterContinental
brand, expanding into the luxury hotel market. In 2000, Bass sold its brewing assets (and the rights to the Bass name) and changed its name to Six Continents PLC
. InterContinental Hotels Group
(IHG) was created in 2003 after Six Continents split into two daughter companies: Mitchells & Butlers
PLC to handle restaurant assets, and IHG to focus on soft drinks and hotels, including the Holiday Inn brand.
The brand name Holiday Inn is now owned by IHG, which in turn licenses the name to franchisees and third parties who operate hotels under management agreements.
In January 2002, The Wall Street Journal
reported that the company, led by Ravi Saligram, was producing a new 130-room "Next Generation" prototype hotel to rebuild the brand. It would include a bistro-like restaurant and an indoor pool. The first of these prototype hotels, the Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center, was built in Duluth, Georgia, in 2003.
On 24 October 2007, IHG announced a worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand. The relaunch is "focused on delivering consistently best in class service and physical quality levels, including a redesigned welcome experience [and] signature bedding and bathroom products..." The first relaunched Holiday Inn opened in the USA in the spring of 2008. Currently there are more than 2,500 relaunched Holiday Inn brand hotels around the world, and the Holiday Inn global brand relaunch process is reported to be completed by the end of 2010.
In September 2008, IHG announced the creation of a new timeshare brand, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, a strategic alliance with The Family of Orange Lake Resorts. The Holiday Inn at Chessington World of Adventures
is safari-themed, with a Zafari Bar and Grill.
The "Great Sign" is the roadside sign used by Holiday Inn during their original era of expansion in the 1950s-1970s. It consisted of marquee box, a tower lit in either red, orange, or blue neon, with a flashing animated neon star at the top. It had 1500 feet of neon tubing and over 500 incandescent light bulbs. It was introduced by Kemmons Wilson when he opened his first motel on August 1, 1952. The signs were extremely large and eye-catching, but were expensive to construct and operate. The sign, including the script logo, was originally designed by Memphis, TN artist, James A. Anderson, Sr., a commercial artist who later became known for his oil paintings of Mexico and the American southwest. The manufacturers of the sign were members of the Balton family, whose ancestor D.F. Balton founded Balton & Sons in Memphis in 1875. The story goes that the sign’s colors were selected because they were favorites of Wilson’s mother. The popularity the sign led to many clones being produced, some of which remain to this day. In 1982, following Wilson's departure, the Holiday Inn board of directors made the decision to phase out the "Great Sign" in favor of a cheaper and less catchy backlit sign that still maintained the original script logo (this changed after the second remodel). The decision was not without controversy as it essentially signaled the end of the Wilson era and removed a widely recognized company icon. Wilson was angered about this, saying, "It was the worst mistake they ever made". Sadly, the majority of the signs were sold as scrap metal and recycled.
In 2003, in a program of hotel redesign, the company brought back a revamped version of the Great Sign that showed up the company's advertising under the slogan "Relax, it's Holiday Inn." The makeover came with a new prototype hotel that included photography of the sign and a retro-style diner named after founder Kemmons Wilson.
Several intact fragments of the infamous sign have been restored and relit, mostly the Holiday Inn top section of the sign, and the marquee box. However, in 2006, a complete sign was finally found. The disassembled sign, complete with star, marquee box, and the sign base, was discovered in a backlot in Minnesota . On June 3, 2007, it was purchased by Greg Baumgarten, a neon sign restoration expert, in order to restore it to its 1950s glory. It is currently being restored and reassembled, and after completion, it will be displayed at the National Save the Neon Signs Museum in Minot, North Dakota
. It is currently unknown if there are any other surviving Great Signs.
in which the lodging chain would accept Gulf credit cards to charge food and lodging at all of its hotels (in the United States and Canada). In return, Gulf would build service stations
on the premises of many Holiday Inn properties, particularly those along or near major U.S. and Interstate highways. Many older Holiday Inns locations (including some no longer part of the chain) still have the service station properties intact today, either still in operation or closed down. With the exception of a few locations in the eastern U.S., hardly any of the still-open stations are now Gulf outlets. The portion of the agreement which permitted Gulf credit cards to be used for payment of food and lodging at Holiday Inns was copied by competing lodging chains and major oil companies during the mid-to-late 1960s. Most of those agreements fizzled out with the 1973 oil crisis
. The Gulf/Holiday Inn arrangement ended around 1982.
moniker was split from Holiday Inn in 1994 to form a distinctive brand.
During the 1960's & 70's, there were several Holiday Inn Jr. motels with just 44-48 guest rooms located in portables. Locations included Camden, Arkansas
, Rantoul, Illinois
. Cleveland, Mississippi
, Sardis, Mississippi
, Farmington, Missouri
, Springfield, Tennessee
and Columbus, Texas
. A traditionally constructed lobby building featured a Holiday Grill restaurant. The Camden location had just 32 rooms while the Rantoul location had 64 rooms.
Holiday Inn Magazine was a monthly publication for guests during the 1970's. It featured travel destination and attraction stories in addition to a featured hotel property.
In 1996, Holiday Inn hired advertising firm Fallon McElligott
, dropping Young & Rubicam
after a 6 year relationship.
Some hotels in the UK are equipped with a Chargebox
, a machine for charging devices such as mobile phones, PDA
s, iPod
s, PSP
s, and other small, mobile electronics.
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
of hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, formally a economy motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
chain, forming part of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...
(IHG). It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline. There are 100 million guest nights each year, globally.
History
Kemmons WilsonKemmons Wilson
Charles Kemmons Wilson was the founder of the Holiday Inn chain of hotels.-Personal life:He was born in Osceola, Arkansas, the only child of Kemmons and Ruby "Doll" Wilson. His father was an insurance salesman who died when Kemmons was nine months old...
initially came up with the idea after a family road trip to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, during which he was disappointed by the quality and consistency provided by the roadside motels of the time. The name Holiday Inn was given to the original hotel by his architect Eddie Bluestein as a joke, in reference to the Bing Crosby movie
Holiday Inn (film)
Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with music by Irving Berlin. The film has twelve songs written expressly for the film, the most notable being "White Christmas"...
. The first Holiday Inn opened at 4941 Summer Avenue in Memphis, the main highway to Nashville, in August 1952. The motel was demolished in the early 1990s, but there is a plaque commemorating the site.
Wilson partnered with Wallace E. Johnson to build additional motels on the by roads entering Memphis. Holiday Inn's corporate headquarters was in a converted plumbing shed owned by Johnson in 1953, when the company built its first four hotels, one covering each approach to Memphis. On the occasion of Johnson's death, Wilson was quoted as saying, "The greatest man I ever knew died today. He was the greatest partner a man could ever have."
Together they started what Wilson would shepherd into Holiday Corp., one of the world's largest hotel groups.
In 1957, Wilson franchised the chain as Holiday Inn of America and it grew dramatically, following Wilson's original tenet that the properties should be standardized, clean, predictable, family-friendly and readily accessible to road travellers. By 1958, there were 50 locations across the country, 100 by 1959, 500 by 1964, and the 1000th Holiday Inn opened in San Antonio, Texas, in 1968. The chain dominated the motel market, leveraged its innovative Holidex reservation system, put considerable financial pressure on traditional hotels and set the standard for its competitors, like Ramada
Ramada
Ramada is a hotel chain owned and operated by Wyndham Worldwide.- History :The lodging chain was founded in 1953 by longtime Chicago restaurateur Marion W...
Inns, Quality Inn, Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's is a chain of hotels and restaurants, located primarily throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Howard Johnson's was the largest restaurant chain in the United States, with over 1,000 restaurants...
, and Best Western
Best Western
Best Western International, Inc. is the third largest hotel chain, with over 4,195 hotels in nearly 80 countries. The chain, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, operates more than 2,000 hotels in North America alone. Best Western has a marketing program involving placement of free...
. By June 1972, when Wilson was featured on the cover of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, there were over 1,400 Holiday Inn hotels worldwide. Innovations like the company's Holidome indoor pools turned many hotels into roadside resorts.
The company later branched into other enterprises, including Medi-Center nursing homes, Continental Trailways
Trailways Transportation System
The Trailways Transportation System is an American group of 80 independent bus companies that have entered into a franchising agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.- History :...
, Delta Queen
Delta Queen
The Delta Queen is an American sternwheel steamboat that is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Historically, she has been used for cruising the major rivers that constitute the drainage of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South. As of June 2009, she is docked in Chattanooga,...
, and Show-Biz, Inc., a television production company that specialized in syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
shows. Wilson also later developed the Orange Lake Resort and Country Club near Orlando and a chain called Wilson World Hotels. The family of founder Kemmons Wilson still operates hotels as part of the Kemmons Wilson Companies of Memphis. Wilson retired from Holiday Inn in 1979.
Harrah's Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
, Embassy Suites Hotels
Embassy Suites Hotels
'Embassy Suites Hotels is a chain of upscale all-suite hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. As of Feb. 22, 2011, there are 200 Embassy Suites Hotels in the United States, plus 8 Embassy Suites Hotels internationally. Similar to other Hilton brands, most Embassy Suites hotels are independently...
, Crowne Plaza
Crowne Plaza
Crowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...
, Homewood Suites by Hilton
Homewood Suites by Hilton
Homewood Suites by Hilton is an American chain of all-suite residential-style hotels managed by the Hilton Worldwide. As of April 2011, the chain consists of 306 hotels and another 75 under development...
and Hampton Inn
Hampton Inn
'Hampton Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Hampton by Hilton are the names of a brand of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. Most Hampton hotels are independently owned and operated by franchisees, though a few are owned and/or managed by the Hilton Hotels Corporation...
. In 1988, Holiday Corporation was purchased by UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based Bass PLC
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
(the owners of the Bass beer brand), followed by the remaining domestic Holiday Inn hotels in 1990, when founder Wilson sold his interest, after which the hotel group was known as Holiday Inn Worldwide. The remainder of Holiday Corporation (including the Embassy Suites Hotels
Embassy Suites Hotels
'Embassy Suites Hotels is a chain of upscale all-suite hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. As of Feb. 22, 2011, there are 200 Embassy Suites Hotels in the United States, plus 8 Embassy Suites Hotels internationally. Similar to other Hilton brands, most Embassy Suites hotels are independently...
, Homewood Suites by Hilton
Homewood Suites by Hilton
Homewood Suites by Hilton is an American chain of all-suite residential-style hotels managed by the Hilton Worldwide. As of April 2011, the chain consists of 306 hotels and another 75 under development...
and Hampton Inn
Hampton Inn
'Hampton Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Hampton by Hilton are the names of a brand of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. Most Hampton hotels are independently owned and operated by franchisees, though a few are owned and/or managed by the Hilton Hotels Corporation...
brands) was spun off to shareholders as Promus Companies Incorporated
Promus Hotel Corporation
Promus Hotel Corporation was a hotel management and franchise company based in Memphis, Tennessee.- History :Promus Hotel Corporation's beginnings are tied to the original Holiday Inn company in Memphis, Tennessee. By 1974 Holiday Inn had diversified into several businesses that included a meat...
. In 1990, Bass launched Holiday Inn Express, a complementary brand in the limited service segment.
In 1994, Bass launched Crowne Plaza, a move into the upscale hotel market. In 1997, Bass created and launched a new hotel brand, Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn, entering the North American upscale extended stay market. In March 1998, Bass acquired the InterContinental
InterContinental
InterContinental is a brand of upscale luxury hotels, founded by Pan American World Airways, under Juan Trippe, and now owned by InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 200 hotels and resorts in approximately 75 nations.-History:...
brand, expanding into the luxury hotel market. In 2000, Bass sold its brewing assets (and the rights to the Bass name) and changed its name to Six Continents PLC
Six Continents
Six Continents was a large British-based retail business which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
. InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...
(IHG) was created in 2003 after Six Continents split into two daughter companies: Mitchells & Butlers
Mitchells & Butlers
Mitchells & Butlers plc runs around 2,000 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The Company's headquarters is in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom...
PLC to handle restaurant assets, and IHG to focus on soft drinks and hotels, including the Holiday Inn brand.
The brand name Holiday Inn is now owned by IHG, which in turn licenses the name to franchisees and third parties who operate hotels under management agreements.
In January 2002, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
reported that the company, led by Ravi Saligram, was producing a new 130-room "Next Generation" prototype hotel to rebuild the brand. It would include a bistro-like restaurant and an indoor pool. The first of these prototype hotels, the Holiday Inn Gwinnett Center, was built in Duluth, Georgia, in 2003.
On 24 October 2007, IHG announced a worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand. The relaunch is "focused on delivering consistently best in class service and physical quality levels, including a redesigned welcome experience [and] signature bedding and bathroom products..." The first relaunched Holiday Inn opened in the USA in the spring of 2008. Currently there are more than 2,500 relaunched Holiday Inn brand hotels around the world, and the Holiday Inn global brand relaunch process is reported to be completed by the end of 2010.
In September 2008, IHG announced the creation of a new timeshare brand, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, a strategic alliance with The Family of Orange Lake Resorts. The Holiday Inn at Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park and zoo in South West London, England. It lies south of Central London. Historically opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, a theme park was developed alongside it, opening in 1987...
is safari-themed, with a Zafari Bar and Grill.
Great Sign
In 2003, in a program of hotel redesign, the company brought back a revamped version of the Great Sign that showed up the company's advertising under the slogan "Relax, it's Holiday Inn." The makeover came with a new prototype hotel that included photography of the sign and a retro-style diner named after founder Kemmons Wilson.
Several intact fragments of the infamous sign have been restored and relit, mostly the Holiday Inn top section of the sign, and the marquee box. However, in 2006, a complete sign was finally found. The disassembled sign, complete with star, marquee box, and the sign base, was discovered in a backlot in Minnesota . On June 3, 2007, it was purchased by Greg Baumgarten, a neon sign restoration expert, in order to restore it to its 1950s glory. It is currently being restored and reassembled, and after completion, it will be displayed at the National Save the Neon Signs Museum in Minot, North Dakota
Minot, North Dakota
Minot is a city located in north central North Dakota in the United States. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state...
. It is currently unknown if there are any other surviving Great Signs.
Business relationship with Gulf Oil
In 1963, Holiday Inns signed a long-term deal with Gulf Oil CorporationGulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
in which the lodging chain would accept Gulf credit cards to charge food and lodging at all of its hotels (in the United States and Canada). In return, Gulf would build service stations
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
on the premises of many Holiday Inn properties, particularly those along or near major U.S. and Interstate highways. Many older Holiday Inns locations (including some no longer part of the chain) still have the service station properties intact today, either still in operation or closed down. With the exception of a few locations in the eastern U.S., hardly any of the still-open stations are now Gulf outlets. The portion of the agreement which permitted Gulf credit cards to be used for payment of food and lodging at Holiday Inns was copied by competing lodging chains and major oil companies during the mid-to-late 1960s. Most of those agreements fizzled out with the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
. The Gulf/Holiday Inn arrangement ended around 1982.
Historical trademark conflicts
- For two decades a hotel called Holiday Inn located in Niagara Falls, OntarioNiagara Falls, OntarioNiagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
prevented the Holiday Inn Corporation from operating one of its own hotels in that city since the name was already in use. The hotel used a logo similar to the old Holiday Inn logo from the 1970s. The Holiday Inn Corporation directory referred to the hotel as "not part of this Holiday Inn system". The hotel also owned the holidayinn.com domain, which forced the much larger corporation to use holiday-inn.com. In 2006, an agreement between IHG and the Niagara Falls, Ontario hotel owners was reached that allowed both the Hotel and Holidayinn.com to be incorporated into the IHG system.
- During the 1960s and early 1970s, Holiday Inn hotels located in Myrtle Beach, South CarolinaMyrtle Beach, South CarolinaMyrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
were simply called "Holiday" because a local motel already had the "Holiday Inn" name. The name was contested by Holiday Inns, Inc. v Holiday Inn before the United States District Court for the District of South CarolinaUnited States District Court for the District of South CarolinaThe United States District Court for the District of South Carolina is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina...
(FlorenceFlorence, South Carolina-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...
division) in 1973. The South Carolina Holiday Inn had franchised their name to Strand Development Corporation, which filed a counterclaim against Holiday Inns, Inc. The dispute resulted in a concurrent use registrationConcurrent use registrationA concurrent use registration, in United States trademark law, is a federal trademark registration of the same trademark to two or more unrelated parties, with each party having a registration limited to a distinct geographic area...
for the Myrtle Beach hotel, which still operates as "Holiday Inn", although it is required to use a distinctly different font.
Brands
- Holiday Inn – the most recognizable tier of service. There are two distinct types: high-rise, full-service plaza hotels and low-rise, full-service hotels. The former also included many high-rises with round, central-core construction, instantly recognizable from the 1970s. Both offer a restaurant, pools at most locations, room service, an exercise room, and functional but comfortable rooms.
- Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites – properties offering all the amenities and services of a regular Holiday Inn but consists of rooms mixed with suites.
- Holiday Inn Resort – Offering all the amenities and services of a full-service Holiday Inn, resorts are considered a more of an advertising branding than a completely different brand. Most Holiday Inn Resorts are located in high leisure tourism markets.
- Holiday Inn Select – upper range full-service hotels which cater to business travelers. In 2006, it was announced that Holiday Inn Select hotels will be discontinued. Existing hotels may continue to operate under the Holiday Inn Select flag until their existing license expires, however many are converting to Crowne Plaza or regular Holiday Inn hotels, with no further marketing or advertising based around the "Select" moniker.
- Holiday Inn Sunspree ResortsHoliday Inn Sunspree ResortsHoliday Inn SunSpree Resorts were a resort version of Holiday Inn and typically offered extras not available in most Holiday Inns like children's activities, spa, pools & gyms...
– properties in resort areas with full-service amenities and deluxe service. These are typically very large properties. - Holiday Inn Garden CourtHoliday Inn Garden CourtHoliday Inn Garden Court is a 3 star version of Holiday Inn 4 star hotels, Garden Court hotels can only be found in Europe & South Africa, not many Garden Court Hotels can be found around the areas that it covers & some Garden Court hotels have converted into regular Holiday Inn hotels.-External...
– which exist only in Europe and South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and are designed to reflect the national culture. - Holiday Inn ExpressHoliday Inn ExpressHoliday Inn Express is a mid-priced hotel chain within the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands. As an "express" hotel, their focus is on offering limited services and a reasonable price. Standard amenities lean toward the convenient and practical which cater to business travelers and...
– Smaller versions of Holiday Inn hotels with fewer amenities and services.
Other
Although originally called "Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza", the Crowne PlazaCrowne Plaza
Crowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...
moniker was split from Holiday Inn in 1994 to form a distinctive brand.
During the 1960's & 70's, there were several Holiday Inn Jr. motels with just 44-48 guest rooms located in portables. Locations included Camden, Arkansas
Camden, Arkansas
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the southern part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Long an area of American Indians villages, the French also made a permanent settlement here because of its advantageous location above the Ouachita River. According to 2007 Census...
, Rantoul, Illinois
Rantoul, Illinois
Rantoul is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,674 at the 2010 census. The present mayor is Neal Williams, who was re-elected in 2009...
. Cleveland, Mississippi
Cleveland, Mississippi
Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,334 as of the 2010 census.Cleveland has a fairly large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. Highway 61...
, Sardis, Mississippi
Sardis, Mississippi
Sardis is a town in Panola County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,038.-Geography:Sardis is located at ....
, Farmington, Missouri
Farmington, Missouri
Farmington is a city in St. Francois County located south of St. Louis in the Lead Belt region in Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 16,240. It is the county seat of St. Francois County. The Farmington Micropolitan Statistical Area embraces St...
, Springfield, Tennessee
Springfield, Tennessee
Springfield is a city in Robertson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 14,329 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Robertson County.-Geography:Springfield is located at ....
and Columbus, Texas
Columbus, Texas
Columbus is a city in Colorado County, Texas, United States, west of Houston along Interstate 10, on the Colorado River. In 1890, 2,199 people lived in Columbus, Texas; in 1900, there were 1,824 residents. The population was 3,916 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Colorado County...
. A traditionally constructed lobby building featured a Holiday Grill restaurant. The Camden location had just 32 rooms while the Rantoul location had 64 rooms.
Holiday Inn Magazine was a monthly publication for guests during the 1970's. It featured travel destination and attraction stories in addition to a featured hotel property.
In 1996, Holiday Inn hired advertising firm Fallon McElligott
Fallon Worldwide
Fallon Worldwide is an international advertising agency headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota with affiliate offices in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, São Paulo and Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Publicis.-History:...
, dropping Young & Rubicam
Young & Rubicam
Y&R is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.-History:...
after a 6 year relationship.
Some hotels in the UK are equipped with a Chargebox
Chargebox
A ChargeBox is a machine for charging devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, iPods, PSPs, and other small, mobile electronics. They can be situated in locations between the home and the office, with securable lockers, so devices can be safely charged at the owner’s convenience...
, a machine for charging devices such as mobile phones, PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s, iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
s, PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
s, and other small, mobile electronics.
Holiday Inn Club Vacations
In the early 1980s Wilson bought a large plot of land bordering Walt Disney World. On this land he built the Orange Lake Resort. Recently, Orange Lake has bought out other resorts and still plans to acquire more. Because there are now many resorts in the company the Holiday Inn Vacation Club was launched in September 2008. There are currently six Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort properties: Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort, Orlando, FL; Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Lake Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva, WI; Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Ascutney Mountain Resort, Brownsville, VT; Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Bay Point Resort, Panama City, FL; Holiday Inn Club Vacation at South Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC; Holiday Inn Vacation Club at Smoky Mountain Resort, Gatlinburg, TN.External links
- Official website
- Holiday Inn Hotels review
- Holiday Inn relaunch
- Great Sign history
- "Come Inn off the Highway" - USA Today article, May 24, 2002
- I Remember JFK, a Baby Boomer's Pleasant Reminiscing Spot: Holiday Inns
- New style Holiday Inn Review
- Classic Classy Holiday Inn, A Facebook page commemorating The Great Sign and Holiday Inn