Sonder’s New Stock Market Challenges

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, April 26. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

Sonder received an official delisting notice from Nasdaq due to recent financial struggles. Short-Term Rentals Reporter Srividya Kalyanaraman breaks down the situation and writes that Sonder has the next 180 calendar days to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum required share price.

Kalyanaraman describes the alternate option is Sonder can elect to transfer to the Nasdaq Capital Market as a means of receiving an additional 180-day grace period. 

Kalyanaraman also notes how the potential delisting of Sonder could be a sign of concern for other publicly traded companies struggling to hit financial benchmarks. 

Next, Premier Inn is looking to expand its brand through mergers and acquisitions. Specifically gearing towards growth in the German market, the hotel chain provides competition to rival brands such as Ibis, B&B, Motel One and Best Western, writes Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. 

O’Neill examines Premier’s acquisition of six hotels in Germany totaling about 900 rooms — each of the properties are being converted into the Premier Inn brand. This transaction means Premier, already the UK’s largest hotel chain, would offer more than 50 hotels and around 9,000 rooms in Germany.

O’Neill also relays vital information from conversations with research analysts and travel executives about Premier Inn’s strategy to scale operations and seek market share gains. 

Finally, Saudi Arabia is planning to continue its trend of major hotel development, which currently leads the Middle East and Africa for the largest amount of hotel construction. Standing at 42,033 hotel rooms, Saudi Arabia is poised to create the necessary infrastructure to meet the region’s tourism goals, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia. 

Doma Bhutia also writes India is in second place in the Middle East and Africa region in terms of hotel construction is the United Arab Emirates with 22,324 rooms, as per March 2023 pipeline data report from STR. 

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