On November 14, hotel and short-term apartment rental chain Sonder Holdings filed for bankruptcy, just days after suddenly announcing it would be “winding down operations immediately,” abruptly kicking guests to the curb and sending employees scrambling for answers. The company had faced major, unforeseen costs from a deal signed in August 2024 to integrate reservation systems with Marriott International and promote Sonder listings through the hotel giant, according to a statement issued four days earlier.

Sonder had long been an outlier in the short-term rental space, which was a big part of its appeal to investors. Most of its competitors—short-term rental companies like Kasa and AvantStay, the big hotel chains, and individual hotels and bed-and-breakfasts—either own and operate their o

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