Sonder’s Final Days: Marriott Lays Out the Timeline in Court Docs
Photo Credit: A guest room at a Sonder hotel. Sonder
Skift Take
In court filings, Marriott claims that Sonder sought up to $50 million in emergency funding while allegedly threatening to strand thousands of guests unless Marriott paid up.
Marriott alleges in newly filed bankruptcy documents that Sonder executives threatened to strand "thousands of guests" unless the hotel giant delivered tens of millions of dollars in emergency funding.
According to Marriott’s attorneys, Sonder “attempted to leverage guest safety as a bargaining chip — threatening that, unless Marriott financed its wind-down, it would shut down hotel systems and leave thousands of guests locked out mid-stay.”
The claims, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware ahead of a Tuesday hearing, shed new light on the tumultuous days leading up to Sonder's shutdown.
Sonder, which managed about 7,500 furnished apartments and hotel rooms across 37 cities, had been marketed through Marriott's platforms under a licensing agreement signed just last year.
"Before its bankruptcy, Sonder served roughly 500,000 guests a year," Marriott said.
Here's how the last days of the crisis unfolded, based on court a
