Last week’s program was presented by Rotarian, Clayton Jenkins.  Clayton’s guest speaker was fellow Rotarian, Charles Harris with Holiday Inn Express.  Charles spoke about; “65 years of the Hotel industry.  In 1952 Kemmons Wilson, a traveling salesman, started Holiday Inn.  Tired of not being able to find adequate lodging during his travels was the reason he started Holiday Inn.  The first Holiday in was in Memphis, had 120 rooms, free ice, a restaurant, cost $4-$6 per night and had a great sign to pull people in from the road.  This was the first completely branded hotel.  By 1958 he had 50 hotels, 1964 there were 1,000, 1972 had 1,400 and today there are over 5,300 Holiday Inn’s in over 100 countries.  In 1963 Holiday Inn developed the first nationwide reservation system.  Their “tag line” was…Holiday Inn, your host from coast to coast.  Franchising changed the industry. In the 50’s, with the newly expanded interstate system, post-war business success, family vacations and travel was available to everyone.  Souvenirs, promoting brand loyalty, was a huge thing that inspired travel…ash trays, postcards, cookbooks, travel games, match books, etc.  The number one “stolen” item was ashtrays.  Holiday Inn employed a team of inspectors to ensure the quality of Holiday Inn’s around the country.  Holiday Inn experimented with a reduced footprint Hotel for smaller markets, attached to Gulf Oil gas stations, that was not real successful but paved the way for future Holiday Inn Express limited service design.  The Limited Service Design hotels are designed for the budget traveler with interior pools, continental breakfast, limited amenities and interior corridor guestrooms.  Limited service hotels now also include a full, hot breakfast, internet, TV/HD, fitness center, lamps with USB ports, groceries and limited meeting spaces.  Charles also spoke about the “truth about cleaning” (housekeeping issues), Bed bugs, website discounts (third party bookings…be careful!), bedding (triple sheeting with all white duvet), new keys (only have room information…no personal information encrypted), hotel theft (you will be charged!), and mini-bars (with sensors!).  The future for Hotels include; mobile keys (on cell phone), digital room controls (heat/cool, curtains, etc.), 65” tv’s and high-tech alarm clocks.  The Hotel industry is continually changing and adapting to the needs of customers.
     -submitted by Mike Arndt

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