Skift Take
Sonder's financial results underscored how the momentum in the U.S. domestic travel rebound has continued to intensify. But if you want a glimpse of what investors really think of this startup's business, you'll have to wait until it starts trading publicly later this year.
Sonder, a travel startup known for turning properties into short-term rental buildings and hotels, revealed financial results for the first quarter late Wednesday that showed it generated total revenue of $31.6 million, an 11 percent year-over-year rise in the period ending March 31.
The filings came ahead of a planned deal for it to go public via a special acquisition company (SPAC), Gores Metropoulos II, that values it at $2.2 billion.
“We had an exceptionally strong Memorial Day Weekend this year, with average daily rates achieving more than 95 percent of 2019 Memorial Day Weekend levels,” said Sanjay Banker, president and chief financial officer.
It earned an average revenue-per-available room of $77. That represented 64 percent of the revenue it was averaging per room in the first quarter of 2019 (before the pandemic). It had a 66 percent occupancy rate on average during the first quarter of this year.
The company forecast that this year it would add 6,000 units, more than doubling its unit portfolio. As of the end of May, it had 13,000 total live and contracted units in eight countries.
Sonder also published a revised investor presentation as of July 2021:
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Photo credit: A three-bedroom apartment for short-term rental from Sonder in Rome, Italy. Sonder