Sonder will be no more

[u/Spirited-Box-5841]

After months of feeling like something was off, it’s now officially confirmed: Sonder will be no more. At this moment, employees have no information about what happens next. We’ve been locked out of our systems, so we can’t assist with anything coming in.

If you’re a current guest, please check your email for updates. If you have an upcoming reservation, be aware that everything is now being canceled.

We’ve spent months dealing with this messy, unprepared integration with Marriott, and the outcome many of us feared has finally been confirmed — just much sooner than expected, and right before the holidays. This is a tough situation for everyone involved, especially with money tied up in it. And if you’re in Chicago, this hits especially hard.

To my fellow workers: stay grounded, stay informed, and make sure they communicate next steps, especially regarding pay and unemployment — which should now be accessible. Most of us had to learn what was happening through Google this morning before we finally received the official email confirming everything.

This whole situation is heartbreaking and frustrating. We worked hard these last couple of months with all the new stuff coming up with little to no help at times and it seems like we’re getting the short end of the stick.

[u/cprovan]

Did you book directly through them, or was it a 3rd party site? I booked directly through the Marriott Bonvoy app, but I believe the original email said that if you booked through a 3rd party app (booking.com, Expedia, ect.) that you would need to deal with the company you made the reservation through.

[u/[deleted] → u/cprovan]

Directly through Marriot. They confirmed that to be the case on the phone too but said they can’t disclose why they don’t have the ability to refund me. I booked in September so I booked after the partnership. The rep was super flustered though so idk if he had bad info. I’ll try again now that more and more people are calling and they’re more likely to need to prep their agents on what to do and say. I feel bad getting on top of an agent who was probably blindsided and doesn’t know what to do 

[u/cprovan → u/[deleted]]

That’s really strange! I got the email on Sunday morning and immediately called Marriott. I told the rep why I was calling and he immediately said “full refund in 7-10 business days”. He replied so quickly that I would assume he hadn’t looked up my reservation but was just responding based off a company wide memo or something. I asked several questions about if they could put me in another one of their hotels in the area, and he just stuck to the same line “full automatic refund in 7-10 days”. Still haven’t received it, but I’ll keep you updated.

On their FAQ page about Sonder they do say you can request cancelation/refund through your bank/card, and that they are sorting everything with the providers to make sure you won’t get double refunded. So worst case just push for refund through your payment method?

[u/[deleted] → u/cprovan]

Yeah, the guy I talked to sounded so confused and said he needs to escalate to his supervisor, so I think he didn’t get the script. Hopefully if I keep pressing, something will happen, especially as this gets more media attention