11 April 2019

Iconic Holiday Inn® Commemorates Decades of Bringing Joyful Travel and Delivering Modern Excellence for Global Travelers

Holiday Inn Heritage

Holiday Inn Nashville-Vanderbilt property reaches 50th Anniversary milestone

IHG Hotels & Resorts®, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, honors the heritage of the Holiday Inn® brand as its longstanding hotel, Holiday Inn Nashville-Vanderbilt, rings in its 50th anniversary with celebrations that pay homage to its legacy in Nashville and the Holiday Inn estate. 

Founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, Holiday Inn has long stood as a trusted hotel partner for all, families and business travelers alike, across the world. Holiday Inn Nashville-Vanderbilt opened its doors in 1969, breaking the mold as one of the first full-service hotels in Nashville. The property quickly became a hub in Music City for singers and songwriters and has hosted notable musical icons throughout the years, including Prince, KISS, several members of Elvis’s family, Kenny Rogers, Mötley Crüe, and members of the Charlie Daniels Band. 

Wilson visited the hotel, one of the most successful properties in the portfolio, frequently in those early years. During the disco craze, lines wrapped around the building to get into the onsite restaurant, originally known as The Commodore Lounge, operating currently as The Commodore Grille. Today, the restaurant is known for hosting top songwriter talent during its “Songwriters’ Nights.”

Errol Williams, Global Brand Vice President, Holiday Inn, IHG, said: “We’re proud of Holiday Inn Nashville-Vanderbilt for reaching this impressive milestone and serving as a shining example of the Holiday Inn brand. Since the earliest days of Holiday Inn, we have aimed to deliver warm, welcoming hospitality while continuing to modernize to meet the needs of today’s traveler. Holiday Inn Nashville-Vanderbilt, along with the Raskin family, General Manager Thom Druffel and the entire hotel team, lives this brand promise every day by showcasing exceptional commitment to the guest.”

The creation of Holiday Inn served to satisfy a need Wilson saw in the travel industry for high quality, consistent accommodations that travelers could trust on sight and rely on to deliver excellent service. Holiday Inn today is building on that promise with improvements to create a fresh, modern experience through a new guestroom design, including a new room type, and the Open Lobby concept, combining all of the existing public spaces into one open, cohesive space. The designs were developed in collaboration with Holiday Inn hotel owners and frequent guests to create a space that meets their needs. 

Holiday Inn also continues to invest in bringing innovative restaurant and bar concepts to its properties around the world. The recently-launched fast-casual restaurant concept, Toast to Toast, provides everything from breakfast to dinner, featuring counter ordering, digital menus and food delivered to guests at their table. Also, in 2014, Holiday Inn launched Burger Theory, the new and modernly fresh food, beverage and design concept at today’s Holiday Inn hotels. Today, there are more than 30 Burger Theory restaurants across the U.S. and Canada. 
  
To celebrate the golden anniversary of Holiday Inn Nashville-Vanderbilt, IHG® Rewards Club is offering a special package to help guests receive free nights faster. Book your next stay now through June 30, 2019 to earn 50 percent more IHG Rewards Club bonus points. With more than 100 million enrolled members globally, IHG Rewards Club is the first and largest guest loyalty program in the hotel industry. Members qualify for Your Rate by IHG Rewards Club, an exclusive rate which means that members always get the lowest rate when booking direct. 

With nearly 1,200 hotels across the world, Holiday Inn continues to expand its global footprint to create memorable experiences that best serve today’s business and leisure travelers. To learn more about the Holiday Inn brand and how it is growing for the modern traveler, visit www.holidayinn.com or call 1-888-HOLIDAY. Find us on Twitter www.twitter.com/holidayinn, Facebook www.facebook.com/holidayinnhotels or Instagram www.instagram.com/holidayinn.
 

Ends

For further information please contact:

Whitney Jones
[email protected]
+1 (770) 604-8147

About IHG®

IHG ® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Regent Hotels & ResortsInterContinental® Hotels & ResortsKimpton® Hotels & RestaurantsHotel Indigo®EVEN® HotelsHUALUXE® Hotels and ResortsCrowne Plaza® Hotels & Resortsvoco™ HotelsHoliday Inn®Holiday Inn Express®Holiday Inn Club Vacations®Holiday Inn Resort®avid™ hotelsStaybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,600 hotels and approximately 837,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with more than 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG® Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.

In February 2019, IHG acquired Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, adding 16 hotels (1,347 rooms) to its system and 18 hotels to its development pipeline.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 400,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/IHGCorporatewww.facebook.com/IHGCorporate and www.linkedin.com/company/intercontinental-hotels-group