Top Franchises of the World
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Ramada Worldwide
Top Franchises of the World
Ramada Worldwide offers a great restorative experience in over 900 hotels around the world. It is a Delaware corporation, a subsidiary of Wyndham Hotel Group, which is owned by Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. Qualified individuals are offered a franchise to operate a Ramada Chain guest lodging facility at a single, defined location. The lodging chain was founded in 1953 by Chicago restaurateur Marion W. Isbell along with a group of investors. It opened its first hotel- a 60 room facility- in the U.S. in 1954. The name "Ramada" is derived from the Spanish term "rama" that means "branch" and was applied to temporary open air structures called Ramadas that were made of brush or branches. At a point of time, the chain was owned by Ramada Inns, a holding company created by Isbell to oversee Ramada's various divisions including hotel operations, franchising, real estate and equipment purchasing.