Meet Norland James and his wife, Dr. Amina Gilyard James, the owners of the newest Black-owned Quality Inn hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. With the help of a cohort of first-time African American hotel investors, the two were able to acquire the 70-room property located in the Raleigh neighborhood part of the city for $3.85 million.

Norland and Amina, however, are not new to the industry. Between 2019 and 2021, they invested in two Hilton-branded hotels as limited partners and passive investors. Amina comments, "We learned a lot as limited partners, and we just knew that we wanted to buy our very own hotel in 2022. Ultimately, our goal is to acquire more midscale hotel properties in secondary markets in the Southern and Midwest regions of the country."

Choosing Memphis as a location was a no-brainer for the couple. After doing thorough research, they learned that the hotel market in Memphis has seen of the strongest pandemic recoveries in the U.S. Even more, corporate expansion to the area has driven job growth and increased travel to the area. In addition, Memphis is centrally located to the Arkansas and Missouri state lines as well as major cities including Jackson, Mississippi, Atlanta, Georgia, and even Nashville.

"We know this will be a success," Norland says. "We already have plans and consultants in place to increase customer satisfaction, implement sales and marketing strategies, and enhance property condition."