From the Desert Sun:
“The best surprise is no surprise” was the highly effective slogan for Holiday Inn hotels for decades. Unpleasant surprises were the norm in the 1950s when it came to traveling by car on the new interstate highway system, especially when looking for a place to stay.
Kemmons Wilson was more than unpleasantly surprised — he was downright infuriated — on a trip from Memphis to Washington, D.C., with his family in 1951. The New York Times recalled: “On his fateful vacation, Mr. Wilson, already a millionaire home builder, was appalled at the squalor of many guest accommodations, but his anger was piqued by having to pay $2 extra for each of his five children. He told his wife that he was going to start a hotel chain, one that did not charge extra for children. His wife laughed and asked how many motels he planned. He thought 400 for starters.”
I found it interesting that he implemented the idea of not charging extra for children sharing the same room. When we first travelled to Europe with Richard as a child it really was annoying to pay a supplement for a child sharing the same room especially when there was usually just a cot brought in for them and no extra space. I always assumed children weren't ever charged extra in the North America. Thank you Kemmons Wilson!
We used Holiday Inn a lot on road trips especially before Trip Advisor could give you the lowdown on unknown places. It was a consistent experience without surprises.
