Onward & Upward: Ep. 8 with Kristin Kitchen

Kristin Kitchen, Founder and CEO of Sojourn Heritage Accommodations is embarking on a new way of doing business in the Heritage Tourism Industry. For the last 15 years, Kristin has been the owner and operator of the Six Acres Bed & Breakfast in Cincinnati, Ohio. Restoring this historic 6000-sq. ft. home that was once part of the Underground Railroad and turning it in to a successful business inspired Kristin to launch a new brand of boutique hotels that combine the intimacies of a bed and breakfast with the amenities of a 1st class hotel.

With a background in real- estate development, having owned and managed over 20 residential and commercial properties, Kristin has taken that knowledge along with her passion for entrepreneurship to the next level. By integrating a model that not only transforms blighted or underutilized historic structures in Urban communities into viable hotel lodging spaces but in doing so, helps to restore the community by creating or enhancing existing business from within the community to operate as vendors for the hotel. “We create jobs and entrepreneurs with in each community because our mission is to make our communities better and to empower the people that live there.” “When we thrive, our community thrives.”

In 2014, she launched the Sojourn Heritage Hotel Brand, a new brand of hotels focused on African American History and Culture in urban areas, to share the history while uplifting the community. The Sojourn Heritage Accommodations Hotel Group introduces the DUNNS JOSEPHINE HOTEL to the South Florida travel destination community. The DUNNS  JOSEPHINE is an amazing boutique hotel, located in the blossoming, cultural garden and entertainment mecca known as Historic Overtown. The hotel had it’s soft launch December 2019. The DUNNS JOSEPHINE HOTEL is an ode to both the Miami and Harlem Renaissance periods of glitz and old world glamour from days gone by. Staying true to theme, the DUNNS JOSEPHINE HOTEL boasts (15) guest rooms dedicated and decorated to the likes of Miami and Harlem Renaissance legends such as Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, CabCalloway, Marcus Garvey, and the iconic Duke Ellington and Billie Holliday.

As a historian and successful business woman Kristin has given lectures at various colleges and universities across the country and continues to do so. Kristin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Masters in African American Studies.

Kristin lives in Miami Florida with her adorable, 8 year old daughter Zahri Jean.

Organizational Affiliations:

Board Member: CEIA, Inc. -Community Economic Advancement Initiative, Inc.
Member: NABHOOD- National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators, and Developers
Member: Greater Miami Visitors and Convention Bureau
Member: Greater Miami Hotel and Beaches Association
Member: Miami Dade Chamber of Commerce
Member: ICABA- International Career and Business Alliance

Philanthropic works:

She is President of Good Deeds Mission, a non-profit 501c3 organization whose mission is to serve, assist with and fight for equality for urban communities around the issues of social, political and conomic justice.

Kristin mentors at least 2 small business annually to support their road to success. Developed a continued partnership with Cincinnati public schools to provide field trips at Six Acres to teach children about the underground railroad.