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This accolade came to Wilson because he practically created the modern motor-inn industry. He has transformed the motel from the old wayside fleabag into the most popular home away from home. Until 1952, when he founded Holiday Inns, most motels were of the "no tell" variety, generally shabby and faintly disreputable places that catered mainly to casual lovers and transient salesmen. Wilson was among the first to foresee that the fast post-World War II rise in U.S. personal income would lead to a rapid expansion in both business and leisure travel. He also sensed that people on the move would prefer to stay in lodges that offered, in addition to a place to park their car, a standardized level of cleanliness, comfort and food at moderate prices. (In 1971, the average price for a room in a Holiday Inn was $15.06, v. $16.60 for motels nationally and $20.33 for leading hotels.)
Today, largely standardized motor hotels are proliferating, but many traditional hotels in large and medium-sized cities are scratching for business. Hurt not only by the new competition from motor hotels but also by rising crime and declining business activity in downtown areas, many city hotels are all but empty on weekends. Their average occupancy rate has shriveled from about 80% two decades ago to 63%, which is below the break-even point for many large hotels. There are profitable exceptions, particularly in New York City and Chicago; Manhattan's 2,153-room New York Hilton and the 2,000-room Americana are often sold out.
For the most part, however, urban hoteliers have had to fight a rearguard action by offering free parking, snack bars and other appurtenances of motor inns. Motel owners have retaliated by adding nightclubs, saunas and haute cuisine (of sorts). As a result, the difference between motels and hotels is blurring. In general, motels have more self-service, more attractions for auto travelers and families, and lower prices.
Though the recession cut into the profits of most motel chains in the past couple of years, the lodging business is now surging in the midst of a sharp economic rise. An alltime high of 123.5 million Americans will hit the road on overnight trips this year. Meanwhile, a record 14.7 million foreign visitors will travel to the U.S. Every night, close to 200,000 of these travelers will stay in Holiday Inns.
For 1972, Wilson's company aims to raise its occupancy rate to 75%, up from 68% last year. During this year's first quarter, occupancy was up by three percentage points. In Europe, the company's bookings are running three times as high as last year. At that rate, Holiday Inns should have little trouble topping last year's after-tax earnings of $42 million on revenues of $708 million. This total greatly understates all the money that is spent in Holiday Inns. The parent company owns about one-fifth of the motels in the chain and gets all their revenues. Beyond that, it collects royalties from the rest of the motels, which are the property of franchisees, many of whom have become millionaires.