SECTION IV
The Plaza Hotel in New York was 51 years old when Travel Weekly published its first issue.
HOTELS & RESORTS
Brands, franchising and constantly elevating standards of service are the hallmarks of the
hotel industry’s evolution over the last 50 years.
The introduction of national roadside chains in the 1950s fueled the concept of fran-
chising, which brought familiar names in lodging to almost every corner of the world.
Along with those familiar names came the promise of consistency. Standards over the
past 50 years evolved from the simple promise of free ice machines in the See HOTELS & RESOR TS on Page 28
