The American entrepreneur Kemmons Wilson opened the first holiday inn in Memphis, tenn., in 1952, after a family vacation,he was marked by a lack of guest service and overcharging.The hotel has a swimming pool, air conditioning and a dining room, as well as basic facilities such as a telephone, ice and free parking, while children can stay in their parents' rooms for free.These facilities, which now appear to be commonplace, revolutionized the hotel industry and led to a standard that was not only adopted by every holiday inn, but also led to the development of the global hotel industry.
Mr Wilson later became a pioneer of franchising.He took advantage of the then interstate highway system to expand across the country, opening restaurants along the way and rapidly expanding the network of holiday inn restaurants.After its success in the United States, holiday inn quickly attracted the interest of European and Asian investors and grew into the largest single hotel brand in the world.Now the brand of holiday inn can be seen everywhere in the world.
