Sonder had years of red flags before Marriott made a deal — and travelers got left in the lurch
SOPA Images/Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI The warning signs were there. Long before guests found themselves abruptly kicked out of their "Sonder by Marriott" stays this month, Sonder, the Airbnb rival, was battling sloppy accounting, a litany of lawsuits, and a stock price so low it was nearly delisted from the Nasdaq. Bankruptcy filings and SEC records show just how stark the signs were — and raise questions about why Marriott, the world's biggest hotel chain, got into bed with the one-time unicorn. The San Francisco startup, founded in 2014, leased apartments and hotel rooms in bulk, redesigned them with a minimalist aesthetic, and rented them to travelers. It's the brainchild of Canadian Francis Davidson , who is the ideal of a 2010s founder: VC-backed, college dropout, Forbes 30 Under 30. He offered a " revolutionary" promise : Goodbye, poorly decorated Airbnbs with quirky hosts. Hello, streamlined rentals managed with modern technology. In August 2...
