Hotel guests around the globe found themselves suddenly homeless this week after Marriott International’s partner company Sonder abruptly collapsed into bankruptcy, forcing immediate evacuations mid-stay.
Travelers from Boston to Dubai returned to their accommodations only to discover their personal belongings hastily packed into plastic bags or abandoned in hallways. The sudden shutdown left countless guests scrambling to find alternative lodging with little to no warning, per reports.
Sonder filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on Monday following Marriott International’s termination of its licensing agreement. The company, once valued at over $1 billion and positioned as a competitor to Airbnb, was forced to cease operations immediately.
The bankruptcy filing came less than one year after Sonder rebranded itself as Sonder by Marriott Bonvoy. The 2024 partnership had allowed the company to list its properties on Marriott’s booking platform and website.
Reports indicate the two companies encountered significant difficulties integrating their booking systems. Company executives described the technical challenges as contributing to a “sharp decline in revenue,” according to the Daily Mail.
Interim CEO Janice Sears released a statement expressing regret over the situation. “We are devastated to reach a point where liquidation is the only viable path forward,” Sears said.
The evacuation orders caught guests completely off guard when Marriott and Sonder jointly instructed them to vacate their rooms on Sunday. Many travelers were only halfway through their planned stays when they received the notice.
A TikTok user named Avery from Edmonton documented her experience in Montreal. She posted footage of herself pulling her suitcase through snow-covered 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 in Montreal.”
Another couple, Minjun and Kevin, shared their ordeal on TikTok after being displaced from their New York City reservation. They wrote in a follow-up video: “Our experience getting kicked out of our Sonder hotel in New York City that we had booked through Marriott with less than 24 hours notice while we were in the middle of our reservation.”
The couple added: “Apparently Sonder defaulted and Marriott terminated their partnership all of a sudden…”
Social media user Katelyn Caralle posted on X about receiving evacuation notice. “Received a message from Sonder giving me less than 24 hours notice to vacate the property because its partnership with Marriott was terminated,” Caralle wrote.
She continued: “I’m lucky because my trip ended today… but what are others doing who already paid and had their stays cut short?”
Retired technology executive Steve McGraw and his wife faced eviction during a 17-day New York visit booked through Marriott. McGraw maintains Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy and has completed hundreds of hotel stays with the company over the years.
McGraw expected his reservation at the Marriott-partnered Sonder Battery Park Apartments in New York City’s financial district would proceed like his previous bookings. Instead, approximately one week into their stay, he received evacuation emails from both Marriott and Sonder on Sunday, requiring departure by 9am the following morning.
“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.”
Paul Strack, a 63-year-old business owner from Arkansas, discovered an even more disturbing situation upon returning to his Sonder apartment in Boston on Sunday. All his luggage had been packed up and placed in the hallway without his knowledge or consent, per the Daily Mail.
“They handled all our personal belongings, toiletries, clothing, computers, electronics,” Strack said. “Some they packed into suitcases, and some they put in plastic bags. It was quite shocking and very impersonal.”
