Hotel guests around the world were left stranded this week after Sonder, a Marriott-branded hospitality partner, abruptly filed for bankruptcy — forcing travelers to vacate rooms mid-stay and
leaving personal belongings piled in hallways.
The San Francisco-based company, once valued at over $1 billion and seen as a rising rival to Airbnb, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on Monday following the sudden termination of its licensing deal with Marriott International. The move immediately halted operations in dozens of cities — from Boston to Dubai — and left hundreds of staff without jobs.
Guests forced out overnight
Travelers reported being given just hours to leave their rooms, with some discovering their belongings packed into plastic bags.
One guest, Avery from Edmonton, shared a viral TikTok showing herself hauling luggage through snowy streets in Montreal. “POV: Trying to maintain my composure while dragging my luggage down the street after Marriott and Sonder broke up on a random Sunday,” she wrote.
In New York, couple Minjun and Kevin posted that they were ejected from their hotel with less than 24 hours’ notice. “Apparently Sonder defaulted and Marriott terminated their partnership all of a sudden,” they wrote in a follow-up video.
Others described chaotic scenes. Paul Strack, a business owner from Arkansas, said he returned to his Boston apartment to find his bags left in the hallway. “They handled all our personal belongings, toiletries, clothing, computers, electronics,” he said. “It was quite shocking and very impersonal.”
Staff and guests caught off guard
The abrupt collapse also blindsided employees. **Alec Arritola**, a Harvard student staying at a Boston Sonder, said staff appeared as shocked as guests. “The manager was devastated — she had just learned she was losing her job,” he said.
Even Marriott’s most loyal customers were not spared. Steve McGraw, a retired tech executive and Marriott Bonvoy Elite member, was forced to leave midway through a 17-day stay in New York. “We ended up spending several thousand dollars more to find a new place,” he told Business Insider. “It was very, very disruptive.”
From hype to bankruptcy
Founded in 2012, Sonder built its brand around apartment-style short-term rentals with hotel-like amenities. In 2024, it struck a high-profile deal with Marriott, rebranding properties as “Sonder by Marriott Bonvoy” and listing them on Marriott’s global booking platform.
However, integration issues reportedly led to a “sharp decline in revenue,” according to company insiders.
“We are devastated to reach a point where liquidation is the only viable path forward,” interim CEO Janice Sears said in a statement.
The company operated in more than 40 cities, including Amsterdam, London, New York, and Dubai. Marriott has not announced whether affected guests will be compensated.
As TikTok and X filled with posts from stranded travelers, one user summed up the chaos: “Got kicked out of my hotel today… total nightmare. Marriott dropped Sonder, so now I’m basically homeless.” Photo by VargaA, Wikimedia commons.