Marriott’s sudden decision to terminate its partnership with short-term rental and boutique hotel brand Sonder has left thousands of guests stranded, with many forced out of their accommodations mid-stay.
The hotel giant ended the partnership on November 9, immediately cancelling all upcoming reservations made through Marriott, as per a report by People magazine.
Among those affected were New York City content creators Minjun Chen and Kevin Ngo, who were halfway through a two-week stay at a Sonder property in Manhattan. The couple shared their “horror story” on TikTok after being booted from their accommodation.
“I got a random email from Marriott being like, ‘Marriott and Sonder have cancelled their partnership, your existing reservation is no longer in effect. You need to move out immediately,” NGO explained in the video.
Chen added that they prepaid to save on costs, but the abrupt cancellation meant they were now forced to find alternate accommodation at peak prices. “Now that they cancelled the reservation, we have to go look for another hotel and hotels are way more expensive right now,” she said.
Watch the video here.
The couple said both companies refused to provide them with immediate housing or match the prices of available hotels. They have still not received clarity on refunds or compensation.
In a follow-up video, they revealed they stayed up until 2 AM packing their belongings, only to discover that all Sonder employees had been laid off as part of the shutdown.
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Marriott terminates partnership with Sonder
According to People magazine, Sonder on Monday officially announced a “complete immediate wind-down of operations,” with plans to file for Chapter 7 liquidation, effectively ending its presence in the hospitality space. “We are devastated to reach a point where a liquidation is the only viable path forward,” Sonder’s interim CEO Janice Sears said.
“Unfortunately, our integration with Marriott International was substantially delayed due to unexpected challenges in aligning our technology frameworks,” she added.
On the other hand, Marriott, in a message to affected guests, said its “immediate priority is supporting guests currently staying at Sonder properties and those with upcoming reservations.”
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Aftermath of Marriott and Sonder split
However, Chen and Ngo said that the response has fallen short. “We were hoping for more support, but unfortunately, we haven’t gotten that,” Chen told the outlet, adding that the sudden collapse has left them “shocked” and reconsidering their trust in the brand.
“It’s definitely giving us second thoughts, I would say. But I think we’re still hoping that [Marriott] has the opportunity to make things right as far as providing refunds and providing compensations,” Chen said.
“It’s been really shocking, honestly, to see the aftermath of the situation given how sudden it was,” she added.
