Holiday Dreams Shattered as Sonder Collapses
British tourists are facing holiday nightmares and unexpected expenses after the sudden bankruptcy of Marriott's partner company Sonder led to immediate evictions from their accommodation. The abrupt shutdown has left travellers stranded across multiple cities, with some returning to find their personal belongings packed into plastic bags and left in hallways.
Sonder, once valued at over $1 billion and considered a serious rival to Airbnb, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on Monday after Marriott International terminated their licensing agreement. This forced the company to wind down operations immediately, catching both guests and staff completely by surprise.
Partnership Problems and Sudden Collapse
The collapse comes less than a year after Sonder rebranded as 'Sonder by Marriott Bonvoy' under a 2024 partnership that allowed the company to list rooms on Marriott's website. The company specialised in short-term apartment-style rentals and boutique hotels across 40 cities worldwide, from Amsterdam to Dubai.
However, the partnership struggled from the outset, with executives reporting difficulties integrating booking systems that led to what they described as a 'sharp decline in revenue.' Interim CEO Janice Sears expressed devastation at the outcome, stating that liquidation had become 'the only viable path forward.'
The situation reached crisis point on Sunday when Marriott and Sonder simultaneously ordered guests to vacate their rooms immediately - some while halfway through their stays - leaving many with nowhere to go and little time to make alternative arrangements.
British Travellers Share Their Ordeal
Carol Tsai was in the middle of a six-day stay at a Marriott hotel in London when she received an email informing her she must vacate by 9am the following day. She had just returned from a local pub and was about to shower when she discovered the 'horrible' message.
'Back to my room after a long day and about to shower and call it a day as we have plans for tomorrow early morning,' she wrote on Facebook. 'Fortunately I checked my email and voila! Horrible message that we are told to check out asap as our reservation is no longer valid??!!! For a 6 night fully prepaid booking and we are now being thrown out??!!'
Sarah Hughes from Ellesmere Port faces cancelling her family's trip to New York scheduled for 28th November after receiving notification that her reservation wouldn't be honoured. 'Just had an email to say our reservation cannot be honoured as they've lost their licensing agreement,' she explained.
Social Media Flooded with Traveller Frustration
TikTok user Avery from Edmonton shared a video of herself rolling her suitcase through snowy Montreal streets with the caption: 'POV: Trying to maintain my composure while dragging my luggage down the street after Marriott Hotels & Sonder Hotels broke up with each other on a random Sunday and told us to get the f*** out of the hotel room we had booked for another three nights.'
Another couple, Minjun and Kevin, documented their experience being 'kicked out of our hotel reservation at Sonders in New York City' that they had booked through Marriott. They revealed they received less than 24 hours notice while in the middle of their reservation.
Katelyn Caralle wrote on X: 'Received a message from Sonder giving me less than 24 hours notice to vacate the property because its partnership with Marriott was terminated. I'm lucky because my trip ended today… but what are others doing who already paid and had their stays cut short?'
Loyal Customers Among the Affected
Retired tech executive Steve McGraw, who holds Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy, was evicted halfway through a 17-day New York stay booked through Marriott. He had expected his stay at the Marriott-partnered Sonder Battery Park Apartments to mirror his hundreds of previous hotel experiences with the company.
'We ended up spending several thousand dollars more to find a new place,' McGraw told Business Insider. 'It was very, very disruptive. They treated us so poorly.'
Perhaps most shockingly, Paul Strack, a 63-year-old business owner from Arkansas, returned to his Sonder apartment in Boston to discover staff had packed all his belongings - including toiletries, clothing, computers and electronics - into suitcases and plastic bags left in the hallway.
'They handled all our personal belongings,' Strack said. 'Some they packed into suitcases, and some they put in plastic bags. It was quite shocking and very impersonal.'
Staff Equally Blindsided
Alec Arritola, a 27-year-old Harvard student planning an 18-night stay, reported that Sonder staff were as surprised and devastated as guests. 'I immediately went to the office to speak with the manager, who was also shocked and saddened to learn she would lose her job today,' Arritola said.
The situation leaves many British travellers facing difficult decisions about upcoming trips and unexpected costs for last-minute accommodation, with the full financial impact of the collapse still emerging as affected guests seek refunds and compensation.
