We were lucky to catch up with C. Montez Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.

C. Montez, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Travel is one of the most rewarding experiences that one will ever embark upon. The accomplishment of crossing off cities, countries and historical landmarks from your travel wishlist leaves you with a sense of fulfillment and pride. Whether you are traveling alone or creating memories with your close friends and loved ones, scenery is something that can’t be forgotten. It is a great tragedy to arrive in beautiful cities and countries, to be surrounded for breathtaking views, buildings, eateries and amusement; only to end your evening lodging in a place that does not match the vibes of all of the attractions that you’ve experienced before bed. In addition, the busyness and saturation of some hotels and resorts can be overwhelming to your lodging experience. Think about it! Kids running up and down the halls. Excessively loud chatter and music coming through the walls. Footsteps pacing from the floor above you. It can be the worst! The last time that happened to my family and me was literally the last time all of that happened to my family and me. I knew that this opposition was breeding ground for an opportunity to take charge of these types of challenges. I thought why not invest in single family style residences and stage them for one of the most elegant, upscale, fun and convenient lodging experiences that any individual or group could have.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is C. Montez Jones. I am 40 years old and an Atlanta, Georgia native. For the past 18 years, my secular occupation has been Property Management. I have managed every type of residential and commercial property from hotel management , self storage facilities, conventional apartment units and more. I have learned systems and built networks on both the occupancy and delinquency sides of this industry. My most trophied moments have been placing keys in the hands of families who were in situations wherein times were extremely difficult for them and all they needed was someone to take a chance on them. I am most proud of the relationships and business associations that I have established over the years. I have developed an impressive network of vendors who specialize in any and everything that it takes to successfully operate any residential or commercial property. However, I pride myself in AirBnBlack being supported by a network of Black owned businesses and vendors, This does not at all mean that our properties are exclusive to any race, color or creed. our brand and market does not promote exclusivity but empowerment.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Researching and understanding your clientele and the demographics of areas wherein you will plant your properties is key! Knowing the activities that are frequented in those areas will help you to target the right audience, during the right seasons to maximize your attractivity to the demographic of whom you are targeting. Also, targeting master leases or corporate leases help too. For instance, I am also a Senior Pastor and host several guests each year to fly in and do things within our church. My thought process was, if I book this many people/groups a year and invest thousands of dollars into the hotel industry, why not gather pastors and event hosts like me and have them move their business to a more intimate and private lodging opportunity and maximize on those benefits. So working your own networks and creating ways to take your acquired knowledge of systems and strategies to make them work for your benefit is a plus. You should concentrate your promotions to that audience first and let it expand itself.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Without a doubt, our company’s reputation has been built off of the emphasis of our brand. Black owned excellence! Whenever you step into an already booming industry with an emphasis on creating an experience that is comparable to what’s already out there BUT using a different group of people than typically responsible, you are sure to attract curious minds. That curiosity will turn into intrigue. That intrigue will turn into investigation. That investigation will turn into an inquiry. That inquiry will turn into a impressionable experience that will lock in a residual customer.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.airbnblackatlanta.com
• Instagram: airbnblackatl

Image Credits
C. Montez Jones (Intentional Concepts LLC.)