when did holiday inn open
The movie was Holiday Inn. By 1952, the first Holiday Inn opened in Memphis, TN and by end of 1953 he had three more open but was out of money to build more. A lack of money did not stop Kemmons. He partnered with Wallace Johnson and they set out to âfranchiseâ the concept. After a rocky start, their first franchised Holiday Inn opened in Clarksdale, MS in 1954. In 1957, they had their first public offering with 120,000 shares at $9.75. This financial event truly helped get them off to the races in the world of hotel building.