Davonne Reaves is a powerhouse in hospitality and commercial real estate—one of the youngest African American women to own a property in a major hotel chain and the founder of Vesterr, the first Black woman-owned real estate crowdfunding platform in the U.S. Through Vesterr, she’s redefining who gets to participate in commercial real estate investing—making ownership accessible with a $5,000 minimum and empowering everyday investors to build wealth.

One of my biggest challenges was raising capital for my first hotel investment as a young Black woman in a male-dominated industry. I heard “no” more times than I could count, but I learned that rejection isn’t the end—it’s just feedback. I refined my pitch, built strategic relationships, and kept going. That persistence led to my first deal, and now I teach others how to do the same.

Her career began humbly at the front desk of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. But Reaves quickly scaled through the industry, holding leadership roles at Horwath HTL in hotel development consulting and CHMWarnick, where she helped manage over $1 billion in hospitality assets. In 2020, she closed her first hotel acquisition—overcoming the dual barriers of capital access and industry bias—and hasn’t looked back since.

Davonne has owned/co-owned hotels in Oklahoma and Indiana, and has educated over 4,000 aspiring owners through her firm, The Vonne Group, which focuses on training new investors, particularly Black professionals, to enter the hospitality space.

Her approach to life and leadership is simple but radical: “Ownership is power.”

It’s a lesson that transformed her mindset early in her career and now drives her mission to close the wealth gap through real estate ownership. “I’m proudest of helping Black professionals go from ‘I didn’t know this was possible’ to closing their first hotel deal,” she says. “That’s how you shift an entire industry.”

Beyond technical knowledge, Davonne is deeply focused on scaling impact through tech and equity crowdfunding. She’s currently building Vesterr into a tech-enabled platform to democratize commercial real estate access—learning in real time how to structure deals, raise capital, and use innovation to break down systemic barriers.

Named a recipient of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants’ Lori Raleigh Award for Emerging Excellence, and honored by Georgia State University’s 40 Under 40, she’s widely recognized as a force of change in the hospitality and investment space.

Davonne is also inspired by powerful women who lead with purpose—including Beyoncé, whose mastery of ownership, strategy, and balance mirrors Davonne’s own aspirations as an entrepreneur and single mom. “You don’t have to choose between motherhood and business success,” she says. “It takes intentionality, the right team, and knowing when to pivot.”

A champion of resilience, she views Women’s History Month as a call to action: “It’s about honoring the women who broke barriers and making sure we create more opportunities for those who follow.”

Her advice to her younger self?

Your network is your net worth. Stay in the right rooms. Add value. Build with intention.

Through education, technology, and radical access, Davonne Reaves is not just building hotels—she’s building a movement.