Ramada (Hotels)

The chain was founded in 1954 by Chicago restaurateur Marion W. Isbell (1905-1988) and a group of investors, including Michael Robinson from McAllen (Texas), who later founded the Rodeway Inn in the early 1960s ; and Del Webbom from Phoenix, who then owned the New York Yankees , who later founded his own Hiway House chain in 1956 .

Ramada opened its first hotel - a 60-room facility - on the Villa Rogers Highway in Flagstaff (Arizona) in 1954 and set up its headquarters in the state of Arizona, Phoenix , where the chain built the Sahara Hotel in 1956 (which later became known as Ramada Inn Downtown ) and the 300-room Ramada Inn hotel in 1958 , which will become the flagship property of the network and its headquarters. Mr. Isbell, like his contemporary, Kemmons Wilson, founder of the Holiday Inn hotel chain, came up with the idea of ​​building and operating a chain of roadside hotels while traveling with his wife Ingrid and three children. He saw a growing market for roadside hotels along major highways that provided small amenities such as a TV, air conditioning, and an indoor restaurant.

The name "Ramada" comes from the Spanish term "Rama" (branch) ^[1] and is associated with ramada (temporary open-air gazebo made of tree branches and shrubs, ramada were popular in Arizona during harvest ^[2] Company sites usually call their hotels “shady vacation spots.” ^[3]

In the early years of its existence until the early 1970s , the typical Ramada Inn was built in the style of colonial Williamsburg architecture and was different from its competitor contemporaries such as the Holiday Inn and Howard Johnson’s .

The hotel chain performs various functions, including hotel administration, franchising, buying and selling real estate and purchasing equipment. Under Isbel’s leadership, Ramada has grown into one of the country's largest chains from 1960 to 1970 , starting with 100 hotels in 1964 , expanding to 250 in 1970 and almost 650 in 1976 . By the end of the 70s, Ramada was regarded as the second largest hotel chain in the United States after the leading Holiday Inn chain . Also during the 1970s , Ramada entered the international market, opening new hotels in various European countries and on other continents.

Marion W. Isbell served as President and CEO of Ramad until 1970, then he transferred control to his son, William M. Isbell, who would remain in office until 1981 .

Ramada is also developing a network of restaurants located inside hotels. Ramada manages them under various names, including Uncle Ben's Kitchen, Ramada Pancake Cottage and Chez Bon, as well as other names used under the Ramada franchise. Such restaurants ceased to exist in 1990 , although hotels continue to have cafes and bars inside their premises.

• Ramada International

• Ramada (USA & Canada) official website