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Black Hosts Creating Powerful Communities
Black History Month is a time to recognize the profound impact Black leaders and travelers have had in shaping the world and the way we move through it. For generations, their influence has helped define culture, exploration, and global connection in ways that continue to shape travel.
Today, that legacy continues through Black travel Hosts who are creating something powerful: spaces rooted in care, connection, and community-led exploration.
Because traveling with a trusted Host can transform a destination into something deeper—turning a trip into a shared experience grounded in culture, joy, and belonging.
This month, we’re honored to spotlight a few Black Trova Hosts and the journeys they’re leading across the globe.
Ashleigh Bing
In Bali with Bing: A rest-centered retreat in Bali designed for those seeking softness, care, and the freedom to fully exhale.
For Ashleigh Bing, travel begins with a question many Black women rarely get to ask: What would it feel like to truly rest?
“For Black women, rest often looks like relief. Relief from being ‘on.’ From being strong, capable, reliable, and resilient at all times.”
For Ashleigh, rest is not a luxury—it’s essential.
“Rest can look like softness,” she shares. “Like moving through the world without bracing for impact. Like joy without justification and ease without explanation.” Through her trips, she intentionally creates environments where care is built in spaces where we don’t have to translate ourselves, advocate for ourselves, or manage every detail.
That intention is personal. As the self-proclaimed “designated planner” in nearly every area of her life, Ashleigh knows how hard it can be to truly switch off.
“I know what it feels like to always be the one holding the details,” she says.
So she designs experiences where Travelers don’t have to decide what’s next or manage the logistics, they simply arrive and exhale. That’s when travel stops feeling like another project and starts feeling like something you fully experience.
Travel has also deepened Ashleigh's relationship with herself.
“When I step outside of my responsibilities, I get to meet myself without the usual roles attached,” she reflects. Each journey reminds her that she is adaptable, intuitive, self-trusting, and deserving of softness.
“For Black women, rest is not indulgence,” Ashleigh says. “It is repair. It is remembering who we are when we are not surviving.”
Through her hosting, she creates space for remembering that, together.
Connect with Ashleigh on social: @ashleighbing
Kita Rose
Sisterhood of the Traveling Bonnets | Bali: A wellness-rooted sisterhood getaway for women ready to form lasting friendships through travel, reflection, and celebration.
Kita Rose created the Sisterhood of the Traveling Bonnets with connection at its heart. Inspired by Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, she loved the idea of women staying close no matter how different life looks. “When I think of the sisterhood of the traveling bonnets,” she shares, “I think of friendships being formed with ladies from all around the states. We have a common goal of travel and exploration, and no matter what walk of life, we just fit in.”
From moms needing a break to women ready to turn up, her groups span races, ages, and life stages—but the energy is always the same: supportive, joyful, and deeply connected. “We aren’t mean girls,” she says. “We truly care for one another… We are truly sisters.”
Kita chose Bali for this next chapter because of its deep connection to wellness and spirituality. “Bali is known for several things,” she explains, “but what caught my attention was the focus on wellness and spirituality. I think the sisterhood will appreciate the water ceremonies and the journaling sessions I have set up.”
After bonding and learning together in Thailand, she’s excited to see how much further the group can grow. Through the Sisterhood of the Traveling Bonnets, Kita is creating more than a getaway—she’s building a space where women feel safe, celebrated, and seen.
Connect with Kita and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Bonnets on social: @kitarose_
Elijah Gauldin
Righteous Men Retreat in Thailand: A faith-based retreat in Thailand created for Black men seeking brotherhood, spiritual renewal, and space to reset with intention.
Elijah created the Righteous Men Retreat after starting a men’s faith community in 2025 and seeing how many men were craving clarity, brotherhood, and spiritual direction. By taking the experience abroad, he wanted to give men space to step away from everyday distractions and reconnect with faith.
“Thailand isn’t just a trip,” he shares. “It’s a reset for men who are ready to grow.”
For Elijah, travel is powerful because it disrupts routine and creates the kind of distance that invites honest self-examination. Removed from daily pressures and expectations, men are able to slow down, listen more closely, and engage in conversations they might otherwise avoid. On this retreat, brotherhood takes shape through shared prayer, candid dialogue, accountability, and moments of quiet reflection. His hope is that each Traveler returns home not only with renewed purpose and strengthened faith, but with a support system that continues long after the journey ends.
“It means creating a space where Black men can show up fully—rooted in faith, confident in who they are, and supported by one another,” Elijah shares. For him, bringing Black men together in this way isn’t just about retreating; it’s about reclaiming identity, strengthening leadership, and building a legacy of spiritual wholeness that extends beyond the trip itself.
Connect with Elijah on social: @theelijahgauldin
Donnie Moss
Bali with Donnie: An active, empowering adventure for midlife women ready to embrace movement, curiosity, and bold new chapters abroad.
For Donnie Moss, travel isn’t about checking destinations off a list. It’s about expansion. At 57, she’s on a mission to inspire midlife women to live healthier, more active, and more adventurous lives.
“Midlife can be such a freeing time,” she says. “And travel helps bring that to life. It’s about staying active, embracing curiosity, and realizing there’s still so much ahead of us.”
Through her trips—like waterfall hikes and temple walks in Bali—Donnie creates experiences that challenge more than just physical limits. They challenge assumptions.
When asked how she hopes women feel after completing one of these moments, her answer is simple but powerful:
“I hope they feel expanded. Not just physically, but internally. I hope they think: ‘If I can do this… what else have I been underestimating?’ There’s something transformational about stepping into sacred spaces and natural beauty. You realize your life isn’t shrinking—it’s still unfolding.”
For Donnie, redefining what it means to be “healthy and active” is part of that shift. It’s not just about fitness milestones or aesthetics.
“Healthy and active isn’t just muscle tone,” she explains. “It’s curiosity, mobility, courage, connection, mental resilience, spiritual grounding. It’s about being able to say yes to experiences. It’s having the energy to participate in your own life. Fitness is one piece—but living fully is the bigger picture.”
Connect with Donnie on social: @fitandfiercewithdonnie
Keyonna Johnson & Logan Rena
Bali Bound with Key & Logan: A sisterhood-focused reset in Bali for women craving connection and self-care.
For Key and Logan, travel is an invitation to step away from survival mode and return to self.
“Reset and rediscover means stepping away from who the world needs you to be… and reconnecting with who you actually are,” they share.
Bali isn’t about escaping life, it’s about creating space to realign with it.
Their trip is rooted in self-investment and sisterhood, reminding women that pouring into themselves isn’t selfish—it’s necessary. “We cannot sustainably pour from depletion,” they explain.
Sisterhood shows up in the moments that matter most: sharing stories over dinner, celebrating wins, holding space for vulnerability, and leaving not just refreshed, but deeply connected.
“We come as individuals,” they say. “We leave as a community.”
Connect with Key & Logan on social: @joyfullykey @loganrena_
Legacy in Motion
Through each of these Hosts, we’re reminded that group travel is about so much more than where you go—it’s about who you become and who you’re surrounded by along the way.
Black History Month is a time to honor the legacy of Black leaders who have shaped the way we explore the world, and to celebrate the Hosts continuing that impact today. From rest and sisterhood to faith, joy, and bold personal growth, these journeys are rooted in community and connection.
Because when travel is led with intention, it becomes more than a trip. It becomes belonging. It becomes restoration. It becomes legacy in motion.