In August 2024, Marriott announced a licensing agreement with Sonder, which primarily offers apartment-style accommodations in urban markets. These properties were being marketed under a new collection called Sonder by Marriott Bonvoy, and this included around 9,000 rooms being added to Marriott’s portfolio.
It was part of Marriott’s never-ending effort to increase its overall portfolio size at any cost. Well, there’s now a negative update on this front, and it’s incredible just how poorly this is being handled, in terms of the immediate impact on guests.
On November 9, 2025, Marriott announced that it terminated its licensing agreement with with Sonder (yes, the announcement came on a Sunday). As a result, Sonder is no longer affiliated with Marriott Bonvoy, and Sonder properties are no longer available for new bookings through Marriott’s channels.
As a result of this, Marriott expects its net room growth for 2025 to be around 4.5%, compared to the previous forecast of 5%. Here’s how Marriott describes this development:
Marriott’s immediate priority is supporting guests currently staying at Sonder properties and those with upcoming reservations. Marriott will be contacting guests who booked directly through Marriott channels, including marriott.com, the Marriott Bonvoy App and Marriott’s worldwide reservation centers, to address their reservation and booking needs. Guests who booked through a third-party online travel agency should contact those organizations. Marriott remains committed to minimizing disruption to guests’ travel plans.
Guests with questions about current or future reservations at a Sonder property booked through Marriott channels can contact Marriott customer service.
Guests who have future Sonder bookings through Marriott are basically being told to pound sand, and that there’s nothing that can be done. But here’s the even wilder part — those who are currently staying at Sonder properties with reservations confirmed through Marriott are being forced to leave these properties immediately.
Many guests received notice on Sunday night that they had to be out by Monday morning. Yes, that’s despite the fact that these are apartment-style accommodations, and many people had stays booked that spanned multiple weeks. I guess it’s a dire situation, but how unbelievably unprofessional.
This termination is due to Sonder’s financial issues
Marriott has terminated its agreement with Sonder due to the company’s default. Interestingly, there’s not much else out there yet publicly about the default, but I’d imagine that there will be a bigger announcement soon.
Presumably Marriott doesn’t want to end up being on the hook for any screw-up on Sonder’s part. However, at this point it sure sounds to me like Sonder may just be going out of business, with some reports online suggesting that the company has started laying off its employees as well.
For context, Sonder was founded in 2014, but has been an absolute financial disaster. The company went public in 2021 with a valuation of around $2.2 billion, and now has a market value of around $7 million, so that’s quite a dip. The company had losses of over $250 million in 2020, and nearly $300 million in 2021.
It hasn’t gotten much better in recent times, with Sonder having recently postponed its shareholders meeting, as it hopes to get a deal with creditors.
Frankly I find it quite embarrassing that these properties only joined Marriott Bonvoy in the spring of this year, and just months later, the partnership is being terminated due to a default. It really shows how Marriott will partner with just about anyone.
Sonder’s financial situation was so dire that this outcome seemed inevitable. And of course now Marriott is acting like this is a total surprise, and is screwing over its guests, which is incredibly disappointing. It’s one thing to not honor future bookings, but guests are even being kicked out halfway through their stays.
Bottom line
Marriott and Sonder have terminated their agreement, just months after the properties were integrated into the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. This comes as Sonder has reportedly defaulted, and is seemingly nearing liquidation.
The irony here is that Sonder was already on the verge of collapse back when the partnership started, so this isn’t a surprise. But that didn’t stop Marriott from encouraging its Bonvoy members to book these properties, only to now tell them “tough luck.” That even includes those currently staying at these properties being told to leave.
What do you make of Marriott and Sonder ending their partnership?
