Obama Lovingly Shares His Childhood Memories Of Weekends Spent At HoJo

Howard Johnson sure is getting a lot of love these days. First, it got featured on an episode of Mad Men (which, in turn, prompted a nifty promotion whereby you could get a free room if your name was actually Don Draper). Now, it's getting shout-outs from the Prez himself.

During a speech in Cedar Rapids, IA yesterday, Obama mentioned how he used to take childhood visits to HoJos with his mom, grandmother and sister.

The Des Moines Register points out that "the reference was meant to reinforce his middle-class roots, and paint a picture of the modest luxuries that should be available to Americans who work hard."

Fair enough. Though it's also worth mentioning, they're doing wonderful things with Holiday Inns these days too.

The Des Moines Register has the full quote from the speech:

"What was important was just the time you had to spend with your family. It wasn�t anything fancy, but you understood that you could spend time with your family, they were cared for, and you had a sense of security"

Security, sh-mecurity. When we were little, as long as there was a pool (and bouncy beds to jump and wrestle on), that's all we cared about. But we do agree with the Obams on one point: a hotel stay doesn't have to be fancy to be good. And people might start saving some real money once they realized that.

Alternatively, you can always visit our weekly Hotel Deals feature to suss out the options for yourself!

Got a fond hotel childhood memory of your own to share? Send it in!, or drop a comment below.

[Photo: Howard Johnson]

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