
How Holiday Inn revolutionized 20th century travel
CNN
A family road trip back in 1952 inspired entrepreneur Kemmons Wilson to establish a low cost roadside hotel concept that soon spread across the world.
(CNN) — Kemmons Wilson was ferrying his family from New York to Washington by car when the idea first came to him.
The Wilsons needed to stop for the night, but it was the summer of 1951, and American roadside facilities weren't what they are today. Motels were luck of the draw, and often expensive given the lack of amenities.
"Rooms were never quite as advertised, so [my father] would get a key and go take a look at the room before we signed up for it," recalls Kemmons' oldest child, Spence Wilson, today.
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