It All Starts
With a Vision

by Jeff Antos

In 1951, Kemmons Wilson took his wife and five kids on a cross-country vacation trip in the family truckster. Staying in motels each night, he was disgusted with what he experienced: dirt, noise, minimal amenities, and lack of air conditioning. To top it off, most motels charged extra for each of his five children.

On the worst night of the trek, he blurted out to his wife, Dorothy Lee , that he was going to start a chain of motels that are clean, air conditioned, and reasonably priced. He told her that each motel would have a swimming pool, ice machines, and would not charge extra for kids. Chuckling at his grand vision, Dorothy Lee asked how many motels he would have. “Four hundred,” Kremmons replied.

Kemmons died on February 12, 2003 at the age of 90. He had underestimated his vision by several thousand. Basing the name of his business on a popular Bing Crosby movie from the early 40s, he would eventually have hotels in every state and every country in the world. In 1972, this man with a vision was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. His multi billion-dollar Holiday Inn Corporation was the first to introduce the concept of franchising to the motel business. And to think, it all started with a vision fueled by a bad experience in a dirty motel room.

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