What is the meaning of Holiday Inn?

Holiday Inn™ Holiday Inn is the title of a 1942 film with music by Irving Berlin about a hotel that only opens on public holidays. The song White Christmas was written for the film. Join us. Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!



The name "Holiday Inn" originated in 1952 as a lighthearted reference to the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. The film features a picturesque inn that is only open on public holidays and famously introduced the song "White Christmas." When Memphis businessman Kemmons Wilson was developing his first motel, his architect, Eddie Bluestein, reportedly wrote the name "Holiday Inn" across the blueprints as a joke. Wilson, who was seeking a brand name that conveyed comfort, reliability, and family-friendliness after a disappointing road trip, found the name perfect. He launched the first location in Memphis, Tennessee, and the brand eventually revolutionized the industry by introducing standardized quality and cleanliness across a national chain. Today, the name remains one of the most recognizable in the global hospitality industry, symbolizing a dependable "home away from home" for millions of travelers.

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It helped that the chain also had a catchy name, credited to the brand's architect Eddie Bluestein, who inscribed “Holiday Inn” onto his design sketches of the first Memphis-based motel. Bluestein was inspired by the 1942 movie musical of the same name starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.

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InterContinental Hotels Group, the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms announced today the launch of Holiday Inn's largest global advertising campaign in brand history - Stay You.

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Size: Motels are smaller than hotels. Service: Motels offer fewer services than hotels. Facilities: Motels have fewer facilities than hotels. Location: Motels are located near motorways while hotels have more central locations in cities.

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Moon performed this stunt in order to celebrate his 21st birthday. The Holiday Inn staff, however, were less impressed by his car show than the other guests. As a result, all of the band members were banned for life from all branches of the Holiday Inn chain.

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Cost: Motels are often less expensive than hotels due to high guest turnover, minimal staffing requirements, and lack of amenities. Room door location: In hotels, guest room doors usually open to interior hallways. Many motels do not have shared interior hallways and guest room doors open directly to the parking lot.

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Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, coined as a portmanteau of motor hotel, originates from the Milestone Mo-Tel of San Luis Obispo, California (now called the Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo), which was built in 1925.

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Cost: Motels are often less expensive than hotels due to high guest turnover, minimal staffing requirements, and lack of amenities. Room door location: In hotels, guest room doors usually open to interior hallways. Many motels do not have shared interior hallways and guest room doors open directly to the parking lot.

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Independent Brands With Distinct Offerings Holiday Inn is a brand owned by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), a global hospitality company. With over 1,200 hotels worldwide, Holiday Inn offers a range of accommodations that cater to both business and leisure travelers.

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IHG® Rewards Club | The World's Largest Hotel Loyalty Program.

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