Pinnacle’s Post

A bit of franchising history - the story of Holiday Inn Like all great franchise brands, Holiday Inn began its story with the vsion of one man. A family man who liked to travel across America but became frustarted by the lack of quality acoomodation, especially for families, during long road journeys. In 1952 Kemmons Wilson had an idea to build a hotel, a good quality hotel with spacious rooms and 2 double beds per room (later known as 'Double, Doubles'). Built in his hometown of Memphis, the hotel proved a success and by 1958 there were 50 locations across the US many operated under a franchise agreement. Franchising in the hotel sector had begun - operations manuals, strict standards to maintain,regular inspections by head office, training and certification of franchisees and their hotel managers (known as Innkeepers). 10 years later, by 1968, there were over 1000 Holiday Inn properties across North America. During this rapid growth it became clear that controlling room reservations across multiple properties, many belonging to franchisees, required a centralised system. The worlds first hotel room reservation system was born - Holidex. With the Holiday Inn brand now firmly established, sights were set on the international market. Franchise partners were easy to find. Very often, they were hotel companies looking to tap into the expertise and success of a proven concept. The 1970s saw rapid expansion around the globe which included the biggest Holiday Inn franchisee in the world emerging in South Africa. One of the Holiday Inns built in South Africa even had the public road it was constructed on named 'Kemmons Wilson Drive'. The mid 1980s saw the purchase of the brand by UK brewing giant Bass and along with that came the development of new brands - Cowne Plaza, Holiday In Express, Holiday Inn Garden Court. The purchase of the Intercontinental Hotels group (many of them franchised) and the addition of several other brands followed. Ultimately the company became known as IHG, with over 6000 properties operating under one of its brand names! Holiday Inn/Bass/IHG had become one of the very first franchise 'brand platforms' offering multiple options to franchisees to suit all markets and investment opportunities. 20 years later we see across the franchising sector, platforms emerging across the entire space. Fascinating progress of a fascinating business model. Thank you, Kemmons Wilson, for leading the way. #franchise #franchising #franchisebusinessmodel #globalcareers