Guaranteed to Please

Black and green text on a yellow background.

The "Holiday Inn" logo indicates that it was manufactured and used between 1983 and 2007 when the current logo of a single "H" was implemented. Holiday Inn is one of the world's largest hotel chains with over 3,600 hotels around the world. The original Holiday Inn was opened in Memphis, Tennessee in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who was inspired to build his own travel accommodations after being disappointed by available hotels during a road trip with his family. The architect, Eddie Bluestein, named the hotel in reference to the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. By 1968, the 1000th Holiday Inn was opened in San Antonio, Texas. During this expansion era, Holiday Inns featured the "Great Sign," which were at least 50 feet tall, visible from both directions, and included a marquee. After Wilson retired in 1979, the company phased out the Great Sign. Wilson thought this was a terrible mistake. He loved the sign so much that a version of it was engraved on his tombstone.