Hospitality Design - April 2022 - 40

perspectives business sense
all parties in hotel development. " When we
created the 26 Co., the fi rst thing in mind was
community-having people to talk to, resources
to access, and knowing that you can reach out to
your peers, " says cofounder Aaron Anderson, who
notes that coming into his own Black hospitality
circle is a newfound benefi t. " All the people I
talk to daily, I met in the last two years. " While
building a community may be essential, " there
is not a sense of commitment to real equity, "
Ingraham says. " Since Black Lives Matt er, you're
seeing some movement-but obviously not
enough. "
To Plummer, equity can be dispensed through
advocacy, especially for those who feel direct
support eludes them due to limited representation.
" This is all relationship-based. People have bett er
relationships with those who they can relate to, "
she says. " If we had more people creating diff erent
types of thinktanks or programs that lend that
support-even if it's just vouching for a person-
that could make a huge diff erence. "
" It's not just good for your spirit, " Monique
The lobby bar at Marriott's Moxy Oakland
Downtown, designed by C McKEOUGH unLTD.
says, " it's good for business. " She points to data
gleaned from Bank of America Private Bank
Research, which found diverse businesses to be
fi ve times more profi table on the national average.
A rendering of Homage Hospitality's Hotel
Gordon, set to open in Albany, Georgia
this year with a design by Curioso
The Hotel Gordon's
dark and moody bar
The Hotel Gordon's guestrooms will be
clad in dark hues and wood accents
Trusted Advisors
Opportunity can be a signifi cant blind spot for
Black hoteliers, and a lack of awareness about
career tracks and community makes the journey
more complicated. Marriott International is
among some of the major companies working to
enhance equity for Black hospitality students. In
early 2021, the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott
Foundation provided Howard University in
Washington, DC with a $20 million endowment
to launch the Marriott -Sorenson Center for
Hospitality Leadership at the historically Black
college, which is dedicated to helping the industry
build leadership talent in hospitality.
This kind of program would have been
benefi cial to a Howard alum like Lawrence. " I
didn't know much about the industry, especially
from an ownership side, " he says. " I knew the ins
and outs of operations, but I knew nothing about
capital and buying a property. "
Lawrence and Anderson both got their start in
onsite operations but were eager to take on more.
Despite higher-ups taking notice and encouraging
them, " I was so fearful because there was no one
who looked like me, " Anderson says. " I was scared
to mess up. "
Representation is just as important as
community building. " Diversity begins at the top, "
Ingraham says. " Just as they ensure their vision to
make money is instilled in everybody down to the
front desk clerk, the same commitment has to be
Hospitality Design - April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - April 2022
