The American hotel and apartment chain Sonder, listed on the Nasdaq in New York, has gone bankrupt. The information has not yet been officially sent to the SEC, the financial markets regulator in the United States, but was first revealed by customers who had booked one of the 9,500 rooms the company has worldwide, when they were informed of the abrupt end to their reservations. The suspension of payments was also echoed by Marriott itself, the first hotel company in the world, with which it signed a franchising agreement in August 2024, under which all its accommodation facilities would fall under the “Sonder by Marriott” brand.
In a statement sent yesterday morning by Marriott, the hotel giant announced the end of the franchising contract with Sonder Holdings, the parent company, due to the company’s bankruptcy. “As a result, Sonder is no longer affiliated with Marriott Bonvoy (the world’s largest loyalty program with 237 million customers) and Sonder properties are no longer permitted to make new reservations through Marriott marketing channels,” it said.
Marriott said it will contact all customers who have booked stays with them (through Marriott.com, the Marriott Bonvoy program or reservation centers) to handle their needs. “Anyone who has done so through a distributor, such as a travel agency or tour operator, should contact these organizations,” underlines the statement, in which the company is committed “to minimizing disruption to travellers’ plans.”
Sonder was founded in 2014 as a hospitality company that combines boutique hotels with tourist apartments for medium and long-term stays, with a portfolio of 9,500 rooms distributed in 36 different cities in the United States, Canada, Europe and the Middle East. The proposal was aimed at young travellers, digital nomads or people who wanted to make extended stays outside of hotels.
In Spain the company had hotels in Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga. In fact, several customers of the latter hotel published on social networks the message received from the company very early in the morning, which invited them to leave the facility before nine in the morning today. The hotel, with only 95 rooms, had been operational for a few months.
