Half Luck and Half Brains: The Kemmons Wilson Holiday Inn Story

After spending seven nights in a Holiday Inn, I picked up a copy of this book in the hotel gift shop, where it was on sale for 79 cents. I wound up going back to the desk clerk and asking if I could extend my stay. Kemmons Wilson, the man who invented the idea of the "Holiday Inn" (or at any rate bought the rights from famed songwriter Irving Berlin), has written a book which rivals THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS for sheer insight and business acumen. Why are we drawn to the combination of green and yellow that makes up the HOLIDAY INN logo? You'll never guess! But that duotone color flash, with its "Vacancy" sign blinking underneath, lures travellers in the way flypaper lures a fly. He was a wealthy man even before he coined the phrase (I mean leased it), "Holiday Inn," and making a lot of money hasn't changed his basic character. If people teased him about being called, "Kemmons," he did not take it personally but stored up the energy he might have devoted to getting even, and turned it around into a way to get rich. Okay, so the Holiday Inn isn't the Trump Plaza, still, it's a way for the ordinary person to experience a little bit of the comfort of home when they're out on the road or just looking to get lucky. Kemmons Wilson knows all these facts and lays them out in his now-famous "Twenty Tips" to prosperity. Never underestimate the other fellow's taste. If you had thought of the green and yellow sign you too might be raking in the chips and clipping your coupons. He made it onto the cover of TIME magazine in 1972. What Milton Hershey did for chocolate, I think you will find, Kemmons did for the motel business. Thought of the customers first. Selling his life story is just part II. They were going like hot cakes in the revolving rack in the gift shop, the two clerks could barely keep them on the shelf. Well, 79 cents is quite a bargain even if the book was bad.

Excellent Read! This book starts with 20 tips for success. Kemmons' sucess examplifies those tips. He is so hardworking, never afraid of making mistakes. As he said, everyone makes mistakes only a fool makes the same mistakes twice but he himself made same mistakes twice. Even mistake pays. He did not become rich in one night as those in the internet bubble. He was already a millionaire before the Hiliday Inn. Even after he retired from Holiday Inn, he was still creating enterprises.Makes me want to act on my ideas.

Excellent read! I enjoy good business bios, and this ranks up there with the best of them. After you read this book you'll know what the word persistance means!

This book not only chronicles the life of Kemmons, but expands upon the ideology behind the business of Holiday Inn and other ventures. Not only an enjoyable read, but an EXCELLENT guide for an entrepreneur such as myself. Exceptional in EVERY respect!