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Reaves made waves after becoming the youngest Black woman to co-own a hotel under a major chain in 2020. Now she's working to encourage more budding Black hoteliers to do the same.
Davonne Reaves didn't let the fact that Black entrepreneurs, especially women, made up a miniscule share of hotel owners in the United States stop her from achieving her goals. In 2020, Reaves and her business partner, Jessica Myers, brokered an $8.3 million deal with Hilton–making them the youngest Black women to ever co-own a hotel under a major chain. With an interest in changing the landscape of Black hotel owners for the better, Reaves founded the Vonne Group in 2017 to provide guidance and investing advice to future Black hotel owners. In 2021, the Vonne Group launched the 221 Initiative, which aims to create 221 Black hotel owners and investors by providing the necessary resources they'll need to thrive. She told NextAdvisor: "I hope my story will inspire people to not only think big, but also think about hotel investing and ownership as a possibility."