Holiday Inn Founder Dies at Age 90

February 14, 2003

Holiday Inn Founder Dies at Age 90
Kemmons Wilson, founder of the Holiday Inn hotel chain and travel industry revolutionary, died Wednesday at the age of 90.

According to CNN.com, Wilson is most widely known as the father of the modern-day hotel. As a millionaire by 1951, he developed the Holiday Inn idea during a family vacation to Washington. The first single hotel was built outside of Memphis and viewed as a place were travelers could experience comfort, cleanliness and quality service.

At its peak, a new Holiday Inn was opening somewhere in the world every 2 ½ days. Now there are more than 1,000 Holiday Inns across the United States and many more in other countries.

For more on this story, visit CNN.com.