“I’m basically homeless”: Travelers say they were left “on the street” after Marriott and Sonder abruptly split

Marriott-Sonder customers filed into the streets on Monday morning after the two companies split up and Marriott evicted hotel stayers. On Sunday, potentially thousands of people received emails saying they had to be out of their rooms by 9 am the next day because Sonder went bankrupt and Marriott terminated their partnership.

A messy Marriott breakup

Marriott International abruptly announced on Sunday that its licensing agreement with Sonder Holdings Inc. was void after the apartment company went bankrupt. This split might have gone largely unnoticed if not for all the hotel stayers complaining online that they were being kicked out of their lodgings.

“Marriott’s immediate priority is supporting guests currently staying at Sonder properties and those with upcoming reservations,” the press release claimed.

“Marriott remains committed to minimizing disruption to guests’ travel plans.”

Guests soon began to sow doubt about these promises with social media posts saying they couldn’t get any information or help out of Marriott other than an email telling them to hit the bricks.

The hotel giant started a partnership with Sonder in 2024 to offer some of their apartments across the U.S. and Canada as short-term stay options. On Monday, Sonder announced its filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, liquidating the business and laying off staff. In their own press release, they seemed to blame Marriott.

“Unfortunately, our integration with Marriott International was substantially delayed due to unexpected challenges in aligning our technology frameworks, resulting in significant, unanticipated integration costs, as well as a sharp decline in revenue arising from Sonder’s participation in Marriott’s Bonvoy reservation system,” said interim CEO Janice Sears.

Marriott & Sonder customers report chaos: “We don’t know what to do”

Frantic hotel stayers had to scramble to pack up and find new lodgings over these two days, provided they happened to see the email in time. Those with TikTok accounts made their misery known with POV posts or longer explainers.

“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 gtfo of the hotel room we had booked for another three nights in Montreal,” wrote @jurassicave over footage of her marching through the snow.

@kinecorder Ask me anything about why I’m not doing business with #marriott or #sonder again. #Nice #france #travel ♬ original sound – Kiné Corder, MA, NCC

TikToker @kinecorder said she will never do business with either company again, claiming that her email told her to shove off immediately.

@minjunandkevin Part 2 of 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. Apparently Sonder defaulted and Mariott terminated their partnership all of a sudden… #marriot #marriottbonvoy #hotel #nyc #sonder @Marriott Bonvoy @Sonder @Minjun and Kevin | Travel ♬ original sound – Minjun and Kevin | Travel

According to couple @minjunandkevin, the Sonder employees at their location seemed to be unaware of what had happened between the companies and couldn’t help much. Additionally, they said Marriott still hadn’t contacted them on any compensation for the added expense of last-minute booking.

@daudiaofficial Any suggestion or advice?!?! We don’t know what to do!!! #sonder #marriott #licensingagreement #customers #hotel ♬ suono originale – daudiaofficial

Meanwhile, @daudiaofficial appealed to her followers for advice as she drove around in a Lyft in the pouring New York rain.

“We don’t know what to do,” she said.

Travel vlogger @reece.traveling said he was “basically homeless” as he filmed himself in some park on Monday, wishing he had booked with Landing instead.

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