Short-term rental company Sonder abruptly goes out of business leaving customers scrambling
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- It's the end of the road for one of the biggest names in short-term rentals.
Sonder has filed for bankruptcy and announced it's shutting down operations immediately, leaving some travelers stranded without the rooms they booked months ago.
Rooms were canceled, but the refunds haven't come back yet, according to one customer.
"Supposed to. I haven't seen it yet, but they will," Taylor said.
Dr. Janet Taylor headed uptown with luggage in tow to her hotel room, not the studio apartment she booked online.
"In September, booked with Sonders at Center East, which is a Marriott property. I'd never done that before and got a note on an email, actually on Sunday saying that Sonders no longer had a licensing agreement with Marriott and my reservation was canceled," Taylor said.
She received an email mirroring a release by Marriott International on Sunday that its, "licensing agreement is no longer in effect due to Sonder's default."
The chain is "no longer affiliated with Marriott Bonvoy," it said. And Marriott's "immediate priority is supporting guests" who have current and upcoming reservations.
"I immediately got on the phone and all the hotels I would have booked were like the prices were crazy," Taylor said.
Sonder bills itself a global brand of premium apartments and boutique hotels in 40 countries around the world.
It launched in 2014 and partnered with Marriott last October, allowing Bonvoy members to book on the Marriott site, accumulate, and redeem points.
There are nine properties in Manhattan, three are in Queens, one is in Brooklyn and a corporate office is on Fifth Avenue.
Some guests were even in the middle of their stay and told to get out.
Sonders Holdings issued a statement saying it "has faced severe financial constraints and prolonged challenges in the integration of the Company's systems and booking arrangements with Marriott International."
It also said ultimately the "Board of Directors made the difficult decision to wind down operations and pursue a court-supervised liquidation of the U.S. business immediately."
"It's really about perspective. And at the end of the day, I found some place," Taylor said.
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