Sonder Holdings Inc. manages

short-term rental Short-term rental (STR) describes furnished self-contained apartments or houses that are rented for short periods of time. They are usually seen as an alternative to hotels. "Short stay" rentals are an offshoot of the corporate housing market, and ...

s, such as

apartment hotel An apartment hotel or aparthotel (also residential hotel or extended-stay hotel) is a serviced apartment complex that uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can "check ...

s, in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. It was founded in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 2014 and since 2016 has been based in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Sonder manages over 9,000 units in over 40 cities in 10 countries and has served over 1 million guests. It is the largest host on

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

. Although it competes with Airbnb, Sonder leases and manages its own rentals. It targets travelers who prefer larger accommodations than a hotel room but want a more predictable experience than renting from an amateur host. Guests use a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

to check in and get

customer support Customer support is a range of services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product. It includes assistance in planning, installation, training, troubleshooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product. Rega ...

. The company outsources maintenance and housekeeping services. Guests can request this service via its app.

History

In 2012, to earn extra money, Francis Davidson, a student at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, began subletting his own apartment and managing apartments of out-of-town students in the summers. In 2014, Davidson and Lucas Pellan founded Flatbook, later renamed Sonder, and brought the company to FounderFuel, a

startup accelerator Startup accelerators, also known as seed accelerators, are fixed-term, cohort-based programs, that include mentorship and educational components, and (sometimes) culminate in a public pitch event or demo day. While traditional business incubato ...

in Montreal. In 2019, Sonder announced projects in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In March 2020, Sonder laid off 400 employees, one-third of its staff, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Later that year, the company rehired some people who had been laid off. By June 2020, the company had raised over $550 million and was valued at $1.3 billion. In January 2021, the company announced a planned expansion in Quebec, including hiring 700 employees there over the next five years. Sanjay Banker was named president of Sonder, in addition to his role of CFO, and Satyen Pandya was named CTO. In April 2021, Sonder reopened the Flatiron Hotel in Manhattan in April 2021, after signing a lease for the property in 2019. In January 2022, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

via a merger with a

special-purpose acquisition company A special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a blank check company or a blind-pool stock offering, is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring (or merging with) a private company, thus taking ...

. Also in January 2022, the company signed agreements to operate three properties in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In June 2022, it was announced that the company would eliminate 21% of corporate roles and seven percent of frontline roles. Among those laid off was the company's CTO. In August 2024,

Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging brands that include hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. Marriott International owns over 37 ho ...

announced a long-term licensing agreement with Sonder, adding 10,500 rooms to Marriott's portfolio and allowing customers to earn or redeem Marriott Bonvoy points starting in late 2024.

Controversies

Fines by Boston

The city of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

fined Sonder $11,700 in December 2019 under a new law banning absentee landlords from short-term rentals. Sonder, which accounted for 39 of the 288 such fines in the city, appealed.

Neighbor opposition in Minneapolis

In 2019, the developer Sherman Associates agreed to reduce the number of units leased to Sonder in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, after complaints from the neighbors regarding proliferation of short-term rental units.

References

External links

* * {{hotel chains 2014 establishments in Quebec Apartment hotels Companies based in San Francisco Companies listed on the Nasdaq Hospitality companies established in 2014 Hospitality companies of the United States Special-purpose acquisition companies Travel and holiday companies of the United States Vacation rental