Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1401511
B M & T ••• July/August 2021 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 21 need for more targeted support. These property owners need that to survive and to thrive in the hospital- ity industry." To support the campaign travel- ers are asked to peruse the newly- launched www.stayblackexperi- ence.com website, which features a comprehensive and up-to-date list of Black-owned hotels and B&Bs along with information about the owners and their properties, and book travel at the locations listed. Reaves hopes the #StayBlackExperience will inspire more people, especially members of the Black community, to commit to supporting Black-owned lodging venues through summer 2021 and hopefully well beyond. "This is about giving back, but it's also about tracking the economic impact that Black consumers are making, but aren't necessarily get- ting acknowledged for," says Reaves, an award-winning nearly 15-year hospitality industry veteran who got her start as a front desk clerk at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. She eventu- ally progressed to bigger roles, including a career-changing role as an associate for CHMWarnick, the largest third-party hotel asset man- agement company in the country. Last year she also made history as the first African-American woman to receive a prestigious hospitality consulting award from the International Society of Hospitality Consultants, an exclusive invite-only trade industry organization. "I want to track the money we spend," adds Reaves. "I want to be able to say that this campaign was able to generate more vendor opportunities and diverse representation in the upper ranks of the hospitality industry overall. "That's over $2 million and here's the data, because that can really drive change. Nobody really pays attention to you, unless there's a dollar sign in front of it." Reaves said she conceived and launched the campaign to help address the dearth of diverse repre- sentation that persists in the industry and hopefully to help lessen the blow for hospitality industry leaders, management and workers, all hit hard by declining revenue brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. "In all my years, I've never seen it this bad before; when you're seeing hotel closures and general managers get- ting laid off, people who started in the industry before I was even born, you know it's bad" she says. "I'm a problem-solver, so I had to figure out some way to help." The campaign, she says, is also an extension of a lofty goal she set at the start of 2021; to create 221 new Black hotel owners and investors by the end of the year. "I believe with hard work and a lot of targeted effort, it's totally attainable" says Reaves, who also helms The Vonne Group www.TheVonneGroup.com, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate consulting firm. "Like Sam Cooke sang, I believe change will come in this industry, but it starts with us, as a community, making sup- port a top priority." For more information, please visit www.stayblackexperience.com. deserving group in communities we visit. Our Heritage & History Program, (though revised over the years) made us among the first to aggressively bring heritage-focused travel to the forefront. In 2012, Charlotte moved on to other adventures and after a few years I ended up holding the reigns as president of the association. Today, I thank Charlotte for reaching out to me to partner with her as we set out to make her dream a reality. I am blessed and extremely thankful to have so many wonderful people by my side to keep the association moving forward and still growing. I am excited that we are preparing to celebrate our 20th Anniversary Conference on May 12, 2022 in the beautiful and historic city of Savannah, Georgia, home of our new headquarters since 2018. We look forward to a great meet- ing and the opportunity to explore the heritage and history of the Gullah culture that still thrives along the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. We plan to explore Hilton Head and Beaufort, South Carolina and in TPOC style, we are also planning a fun and exciting post conference just up the coast in historic Charleston. We are looking forward to everyone meeting up for this incredibly special celebration. If you miss it, you will miss a conference that we will be hard pressed to equal. continue from page 12