Kemmons Wilson, a resident of Memphis, Tennessee, was inspired to build a motel after being disappointed by the poor quality of roadside accommodations during a family road trip to Washington, D.C.[4] During the construction, the name "Holiday Inn" was coined by Wilson's architect Eddie Bluestein as a joking reference to the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn.

Their first hotel/motel opened in August 1952 as "Holiday Inn Hotel Courts" at 4941 Summer Avenue in Memphis, then the main highway (U.S. Hwy.

By June 1972, with over 1,400 Holiday Inns worldwide, Wilson was featured on the cover of Time magazine and the franchise's motto became "The World's Innkeeper".

In 1971, the company constructed the Holiday Inn University and Conference Center, a teaching hotel for training new employees, in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

In 1973, the company built the Olive Branch Airport north of the university as a home base for its corporate aircraft.

He loved the "Great Sign" so much that it was engraved on his tombstone, with the marquee reading "FOUNDER" and the arrow aimed at his name.

Although still a healthy company, changing business conditions and demographics saw Holiday Inn lose its market dominance in the 1980s.

[13][14][15] In 1997, Bass created and launched a new hotel brand, Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn, entering the North American upscale extended stay market.

[17] In 1999, the hotel that changed into the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in 2005, opened, called "Holiday Inn".

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2002 that the company, led by Ravi Saligram, was producing a new 130-room "Next Generation" prototype hotel to rebuild the brand.

In September 2008, IHG announced the creation of a new timeshare brand, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, a strategic alliance with The Family of Orange Lake Resorts.

[18] On October 24, 2007, IHG announced a worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand, which spelled trouble for the remaining motels.

The relaunch was "focused on delivering consistently best in class service and physical quality levels, including a redesigned welcome experience [and] signature bedding and bathroom products".

(In the 1980s and 1990s, HI hotels were built alongside the motel properties [i.e. Baton Rouge, Louisiana] in order to provide more amenities and newer rooms.)

[28] The court said the Myrtle Beach hotel had plenty of repeat business and was not negatively impacted by the chain's motels in the area.

The 1973 injunction meant the Myrtle Beach hotel was granted the right to use the name but with a different style of lettering.

The concurrent use proceeding resumed for the Myrtle Beach hotel, which continued to operate as "Holiday Inn", although it was required to use a distinctly different font.