In the spring of 1981, the president of national hotel chain was speaking at a conference in Atlanta Georgia, and while he was there, he decided he needed a haircut. While sitting in the chair of a neighborhood barber, he struck up a conversation. "What are you doing for a vacation this summer?" The barber's face brightened, "My wife and I are taking a road trip, and we're driving to Phoenix." "Really" the hotel president asked, "and where are you going to stay while you're on this road trip?" The barber said "Well, on the way out there, we're going to stay at the cheapest hotels possible, so that when we get there we can afford to stay in something really nice." And the hotel president thought to himself, "This guy is never going to stay in my hotel, because when he's driving to Phoenix, we're too expensive, and when he gets to Phoenix, we're too inexpensive." He immediately flew back to his office in Silver Spring Maryland, called his Board of Directors together and announced "One size does not fit all! We need to diversify to meet the different needs of people." And the result was a company that began to offer four different levels of hotels; The Sleep Inn, The Comfort Inn, The Quality Inn, and The Clarion. The name of the company is "Choice Hotels."
With that rather earthy illustration, I would suggest to you that on that first Easter Sunday, those who were the followers of Jesus had a variety of needs as well. And further, I believe that the diversity of needs remain yet today. We're not all drawn to this place for the exact same reason today. Some of you are here because you are curious. Others have come to keep peace in the family. Still others walked in because they have worshiped on Easter every year, and they cannot imagine being anyplace else. One size does not fit all. But the story of Easter is such a gripping story that it ultimately meets the need of every person in this place.
Note: The market strategy is true according to the companies own web site but the haircut story is unverifiable. So this may be another case of a true story wrapped around a colloquial yarn. Here is the statement from the companies own website regarding the 1981 strategy: "Quality Inn develops the successful and innovative strategy of market segmentation and divides its lodging system into three distinctive chains: Quality Royale, a luxury brand; Quality Inn, for the moderately-priced, three-star market; and Comfort Inn, a new budget franchise aimed at the luxury budget two-star market.’ The first Comfort Inn hotel opens later that year in Atlanta."