Howard Johnson Franchise Opportunity

About Howard Johnson

Howard Johnson® has extraordinary strength. Today, more than ever, Howard Johnson is a name that people trust, respect and look forward to seeing wherever they travel. It's a name that stands for honest quality and solid value. The Howard Johnson name now graces over 450 hotels in 17 countries worldwide. It is one of the most well-known mid-price hotel families in the world. This year, millions of people are expected to visit Howard Johnson hotels.

Company History

With a loan of $500, Howard Dearing Johnson purchased a small patent medicine shop in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1925. He used an old-fashioned, hand-cranked freezer in the store's basement to make vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream for the shop's soda fountain. Three years later, with menu additions like hot dogs and hamburgers, he opened the first Howard Johnson's Restaurant.

By 1935, there were 25 Howard Johnson ice cream and sandwich stands in Massachusetts. Five years later, with more than 100 restaurants on the Atlantic Coast, Johnson opened the first turnpike restaurant on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In 1954, when the company operated 400 restaurants, the first Howard Johnson hotel opened in Savannah, Georgia.

After Johnson's son took over the company in 1959, it was subsequently acquired by three different companies before Cendant Corp. bought the hotel chain in 1990. Howard Johnson Int'l. franchises offer mid-priced lodging at Howard Johnson Plaza Hotels, Howard Johnson Hotels, Howard Johnson Inns and Howard Johnson Express Inns. Children stay free at Howard Johnson, and Road Rally and AARP offer senior discounts at the hotels.

This web page does not constitute a franchise offering or an offer to sell a franchise. A franchise offering can be made by us only in a state if we are first registered, excluded, exempted or otherwise qualified to offer franchises in that state, and only if we provide you with an appropriate franchise disclosure document.