Moving on up!
Two former college roommates just closed on an $8.3 million hotel, making history as the youngest Black women to co-own a property under a major hotel chain, Black Enterprise reports.
Davonne Reaves and Jessica Myers are the owners of Epiq Collective, an Atlanta based real estate company focused on acquiring commercial spaces. The two met in college at Georgia State University. They were roommates and always dreamed of owning a hotel property, Reaves working her way up through the industry starting as a front desk agent for the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
“I would often see other hotel owners, but they didn’t look like me. So that’s when I started on a 14-year mission to make a change,” said Reaves.
She and Myers eventually became business partners in real estate, the budding entrepreneurs locating the hotel property and setting a goal date of owning it by February 6th, the birthdate of Myers and Reaves’ late grandmother. The two accomplished their goal, acquiring the Home2 Suites by Hilton in El Reno, Oklahoma, valued at $8.3 million, through their millennial-driven hotel ownership group with a month to spare.
Photo Courtesy of Epiq Collective
“I told our team of investors that I wanted to own this hotel by February 6th. That’s my grandmother’s birthday, and coincidentally it’s Jessica’s birthday too. Knowing that I’ve done that just gives me chills,” Reaves said.
Since its inception, Epiq Collective has acquired more than $14 million in commercial real estate assets. Reaves and Myers’ ultimate goal is to build a collective, helping ordinary people invest in real estate projects they may not have had access to otherwise. The duo’s success is proof that they’re on the right track.
“I never thought by the time I was 33 that I’d be a hotel owner, but I admit that it feels great to have accomplished that at this point in my life. Making history in the process, well, that’s just icing on the cake,” Reaves said.
The two hope to increase representation and ownership by Blacks and women in the hotel industry. Myers said she wants others hearing their story to remember to “Stay in committed action no matter what it looks like [and don’t allow your current circumstance to dictate the altitude of your success.”
Congratulations, ladies!
Photo Courtesy of Black Enterprise