ATLANTA — Davonne Reaves and Jessica Myers, principals of Atlanta-based Epiq Collective, this week announced that they have partnered with Nassau Investments to join more than a dozen investors, mostly millennials, who recently acquired the Home2 Suites by Hilton El Reno, Oklahoma, located about 30 miles from Oklahoma City, in an $8.3 million deal. Reaves and Myers, who are both 33 years old, believe that they are the youngest African American women to ever co-own a property in a major hotel chain.
Reaves, founder and chief hospitality strategist behind The Vonne Group, and Myers, founder of It’s Jessica Myers, first met as college students in the early 2000s. In 2019, the two formed Epiq Collective to collaborate on commercial real estate ventures. Since founding the firm, Reaves and Myers have acquired more than $14 million in commercial real estate assets, with a focus on hotels and multi-family structures. The firm works with passive investors seeking attractive long-term investment strategies to grow their real estate portfolio.
“I never thought by the time I was 33 I’d be a hotel owner, but I admit that it feels great to have accomplished that at this point in my life,” said Reaves, who added that she is a mom to a two-year-old son. “Making history in the process, well that’s just icing on the cake.”
“Statistically, only 2 percent of hotel owners are African American and we want to change that,” Myers said. “There’s a big void there and we want to help fill it.”
On Epiq Collective’s plans for the year ahead, Myers said, “Our goal is to own at least 1,000 ‘doors’ and create 221 hotel owners in 2021.” Myers added that the firm aims to draw into the industry those who have not traditionally been represented—such as young people, people of color, and women.
