I never met Kemmons Wilson, but I feel as though I knew him.

Known as the �father of the modern hotel,� Kemmons passed away February 12, 2003. And it�s clear that we have lost a friend, as well as a legend. 

I�m not quite a speck in the hotel universe he helped create, but one of our common ties is hotels that are American icons. I started my career as a manager for one of those icons, Howard Johnson hotels. Like Wilson, the creator of Holiday Inns, I have seen a bit more of the industry since that first assignment.

And what an industry: Thousands of hotels, serving hundreds of millions of travelers, creating wealth on Wall Street and Main Street, allowing Americans and travelers everywhere, great freedoms � the freedom of movement, choice, and diversity in accommodation.

Kemmons built himself quite a company, and quite a reputation. Beginning with a single Holiday Inn, he worked as only an entrepreneur can, building an empire of hotels under a brand that now numbers over 1,000 properties worldwide. According to those who knew him best, he remained unpretentious, down-to-earth and focused on business until the day he died. As only a successful entrepreneur can. 

Today, the values of thrift and honest entrepreneurialism go head to head with crass commercialism, voyeurism and a �quick buck.� Worse, on the international scene, those values are threatened by evil-doers who seek to restrict the very freedoms that Kemmons worked his whole life to help secure.

Hard as the road may seem, bad as the numbers sometimes look, those of us in the hospitality industry know that things will turn. Just as Churchill defeated Hitler, who sought to �block the upward progress of the human race,� we will have our day over the terrorists. And ultimately, when we do, no one will be happier than Kemmons, looking on from the Great Beyond.

If he were with us now, he would say: �Go ahead, take a chance. Mortgage the house. Build a business. Succeed.�

As only entrepreneurs can.

Michael G. Frenkel is president of MFC PR, a Manhattan-based public relations firm specializing in the hotel, real estate and financial industries. He can be reached at [email protected].