‘In shock at first’: Sonder declares bankruptcy, ‘evicts’ clients from apartment-hotels

Sonder has declared bankruptcy, sending guests staying at its apartment-hotels scrambling to find last-minute accommodations.

Victoria Ramirez brought her fiancé to Montreal for his first-ever time in the city, but says their trip was cut short when they were “evicted” from their apartment-hotel, which had gone bankrupt.

The couple, who flew in from New Jersey last Saturday, wanted to do some sightseeing and booked a stay at a Sonder location.

Ramirez said the vacation was “chaotic.”

“I was excited to go to Montreal for the weekend. When the government shutdown happened, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it, but we had booked a stay with Sonder through Marriott,” she explained.

“When we got there, we were just enjoying the amenities at the hotel when another guest told us that Sonder had gone bankrupt.”

Confused, Ramirez checked her emails for the first time on Sunday afternoon.

She said she found two emails: one from Marriott saying she had to leave immediately, and another from Sonder telling her she would have to leave by 9 a.m. the next day.

“We were in shock at first,” said Ramirez. “When we went to the lobby to talk to the front staff, they told us that they had just found out they were getting laid off.”

Other guests were scrambling to find last-minute accommodations, and it was “a nightmare” trying to reach Marriott, she added.

According to a statement released by Sonder on Monday, Marriott International terminated its agreement with Sonder on Nov. 9, pushing the apartment-hotel company to liquidate.

Sonder was founded in Montreal in 2012 before expanding to the United States and moving its headquarters to San Francisco.

In 2020, the company got a loan of $30 million from Investissement Québec to carry out a $182-million project, which promised to create 700 jobs by 2025.

Marriott International announced a long-term licensing agreement with Sonder in 2024, but said on Monday that it ended the agreement “due to Sonder’s default.”

Sonder said it faced “severe financial constraints arising from, among other things, prolonged challenges in the integration of the company’s systems and booking arrangements with Marriott International.”

“We explored all viable alternatives to avoid this outcome, but we are left with no choice other than to proceed with an immediate wind-down of our operations and liquidation of our assets,” it said.

In a news release, Marriott said its “immediate priority is supporting guests currently staying at Sonder properties and those with upcoming reservations.”

Patrick D’Aoust, who also came to spend a weekend in Montreal with his partner for their anniversary, says he was similarly kicked out of his apartment-hotel early.

He said it was a “surreal experience” that he never would have expected when booking with a multi-billion-dollar company. When he and his partner were kicked out, staff told him they all lost their jobs.

He added he believes that Marriott dropped the ball, pointing to a slew of Reddit threads detailing customer complaints following the bankruptcy.

“I can only imagine people there for extended stays, for work or for business, or for travel with family to be thrown out at minus one, minus two degrees ... No fun,” he said.

“If you try to buy or get into a hotel at market rate any night of the week, it’s not cheap, you know. People often plan trips, and we booked months in advance to get a better rate. So it’s very unfortunate.”