18 Facts About Ramada

Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

Ramada opened its first hotel, a 60-room facility, on U S Route 66 at Flagstaff, Arizona in 1954 and set up its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, where the chain built the Sahara Hotel on North 1st Street downtown in 1956 and a 300-room Ramada Inn in the 3800 block of East Van Buren in 1958 that would become the chain's flagship property and headquarters.

Ramada had the idea to develop a chain of roadside motor hotels conveniently located along major highways which would provide lodgings with hotel-like quality at near-motel rates plus amenities such as TV, air conditioning, swimming pools, and on-premises restaurants.

From its start in the 1950s until around 1976, Ramada's logo featured a friendly bald innkeeper, dubbed "Uncle Ben".

Ramada sported an apron and held a top hat in one hand; in the other hand was a red trumpeted banner that read "Ramada Inn Roadside Hotels".

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From 1982 to 2004, Ramada changed to a revised, rounded rectangular design with more "modern" lettering.

Under Isbell's leadership, Ramada grew into one of the nation's largest lodging chains during the 1960s and 1970s with 100 Ramada Inns in operation by 1964, which grew to 250 in 1970 and nearly 650 by 1976.

Also during the 1970s, Ramada expanded into worldwide operation by opening new hotels in various European nations and on other continents.

Ramada developed a chain of in-hotel restaurants similar to the Howard Johnson's restaurants, operating them under various names including Uncle Ben's Kitchen, Ramada Pancake Cottage, and Chez Bon, as well as other names used by individual franchises.

Ramada-owned Ramada restaurants became defunct in 1990, though the franchised hotels still include on-premises restaurants.

Outside of the U S and Canada, Ramada hotels are owned and operated or franchised by Ramada International, which was owned by hotel operator Marriott International.

However, in 2004, Ramada International was purchased by Cendant, giving Cendant the worldwide rights to the Ramada name.

Ramada International remains separate from the Ramada operations in the United States and Canada.

Ramada Jarvis went into liquidation in September 2011, ceasing trade on every hotel formerly franchised from Ramada.

Shortly after, selected Days Hotels were rebranded as Ramada hotels, bringing the brand back to the United Kingdom.

Ramada International manages three hotels on Sri Lanka's western coast, under the "Ramada" name, including one in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.

The Ramada Colombo used to be the Holiday Inn Colombo but management has changed.

Ramada International operates three hotels in Pakistan, under the same name "Ramada", in cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Multan.