Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/28/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Miserable stay. Spent 2 days next to a room with a large breed barking dog - despite having a "no pets" policy clearly stated on their www. Lost $200 worth of food due to faulty wiring / fuse for the refrigerator that went out (found out this was a known issue to their staff "just flip the breaker". Several attempts to contact customer service with no reply. Doubt I'll get one here either seeing they have 126 unanswered complaints. Unfortunate.

• Initial Complaint

  01/20/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I booked this reservation through ******* on January 1st, 2025. Expedia and or Sonder were quick to take my money for my reservation. At 11:05PM CST January 20th 2025, I received a message that Sonder cancelled my reservation for reasons unknown. This company has been earning interest off of my money for 20+ days, and will take an additional 10 days to refund. This is a RED FLAG! I FEEL THIS COMPANY IS TAKING RESERVATIONS, HOLDING MONEY AS LONG AS THEY CAN, AND THEN CANCELING RESERVATIONS TO EARN INTEREST IN VOLUME. Although Sonder said they canceled my reservation, ******* found no issue and said my reservation is valid. As I wait on the phone with Expedia to figure out the truth I am writing this up to share with the community. FRAUD is everywhere now. Even small amounts of FRAUD like this add up to big money coming from ************ consumers who dont know better. The Sonder app was hacked a short time back and everyone who had the apps information was sold. I have the recordings (with permission), and all receipts. I feel sorry for the people who engage this company for services just to get used. Please avoid this company (Sonder) altogether. Expedia refunded money on behalf of Sonder which leads me to believe Expedia is in on this. They offered no alternatives, suggestions, or wouldnt even pass me off to a salesperson for my new stay bookings. I have a calm collective voice when speaking. I cant say the same for the people I struggled to understand through their background party.

• Initial Complaint

  12/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I have a reservation at Sonder property at ** **** **** ****** *** for 12/3-6. I must cancel this due to a health issue, I’ve spent over 3 hours trying to do this. Their site doesn’t allow for any telephone calls, Then they are saying that I didn’t book through them but through a travel site such as *********** ** ************ Importantly when I called to make a reservation at the ********* hotel for this trip the number i called on the website connected me to what I thought was an aggregator operator for hotels. They recommended this Sonder’s property..since all the hotels were booked. I booked through them,,,I have no clue who the aggregator was, I talked to ******* and they don’t have the reservation but saw my reservation and gave me a number to call overseas of which i did and it is a bad number. All I want to do is cancel My confirmation code is ********* from Sonders.

• Initial Complaint

  11/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I'm expressing my dissatisfaction with a Nov 7-11 stay at Sonder's The **** in Philadelphia. My trip was meant to be for research & relo, but due to lack of sleep I nearly checked out 2 days early. Primary issue was noise. The ****** website states the hotel's in a central location & susceptible to city noise but it fails to state that it's located above a subway station. Despite using earplugs I could still hear trains & felt vibration. There was a white noise machine but attempting to mask sounds would've only exacerbated the situation. The disclaimer re city noise needs to be more comprehensive by including details about the subway & operating times. Having a subway directly beneath a hotel transcends what one would expect from city noise. Trains operate 24/7. By omitting info re subway noise Sonder's being deceptive & misleading. A mere acknowledgment of city noise fails to encapsulate the magnitude of what has been labeled as background disturbances. Also, my allergies reacted to something in the room. I'm very allergic to dust mites & I suspect that's what triggered my sinus issues. It's common for hotels to overlook laundering of duvets & pillows, washing only the sheets & pillowcases. I've had this problem before during a 6 mos stay in London. I requested the removal of pillows & duvet & offered to provide my own. After 2 days without the bedding my sinuses improved. I've contacted Sonder via email to address my concerns. First email was sent on 11/12. I received a reply stating "This complaint will be forward to our respective team, and we will check what we can do about it." After receiving nothing further from Sonder, I sent the same email on 11/19. I received a reply stating, "Thank you for resharing your concerns observed during your stay. Our city team managers are reviewing your comments and will be in touch with you." I've received no further communication.

• Initial Complaint

  10/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On 10/19/2024, I stayed at Sonder, booked through **** for my wedding night. The ONLY request my fiance had was for a stand alone tub. I looked at hotels/suites/AirBnBs/VRBOs, Sonder's listings all had the words "bathtub or shower" listed and had pictures of both stand alone bathtubs and shower/tub combos. I called Sonder before booking to inquire how I could make sure that I got a room with the stand alone tub - I very specifically stated I didn't want a shower/tub combo. This call took place on 8/21/2024 at 12:51-1:06 central. The agent instructed me which 2 rooms had the stand alone bathtubs, he instructed me to book a room and then call back to ensure I was assigned to one of those rooms. I did that, this second call was on 8/21/24 at 1:11-1:17 central time. I never have booked this room at Sonder if not for the stand alone tub. I'd have continued my search for a rental that could provide me with the wedding night we wanted. When I arrived at the unit on my wedding night, after a long day, we discovered that the room, decorated for our wedding night by my family, did not in fact have a stand alone bathtub, but a shower/tub combo that had a broken stopper, so the ability to even take a bath was out of the question. Also, the dishwasher in the unit beeped all night. Flipping the breaker box did not even stop it. The text messages to the Sonder customer service did nothing to provide instructions for how to cease the beeping. Following our stay, I contacted Sonder's customer service through their *******/*****/28), phone (10/22,10/23,10/24,10/28), and email (10/28). First I was offered $70, then $100, then $0, then $150. These resolutions were not satisfactory to me, I spent $395.86 for a room that had a stand alone tub, and took all due diligence to ensure the room had one. I have continued to attempt to reach the managers who can discuss this concern, but the customer service team refuses to transfer me to discuss my complaint.

• Initial Complaint

  10/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  We used Sonder to book a 4 bedroom apt in *********** from ********, October 12th to October 15th. Upon arrival, there was just a trickle of water coming out of all faucets in the apartment. I immediately got on the their app to communicate this. They said the city was having an issue with low water pressure. They stated it should be resolved "soon". Upon waking Sunday there was a still the trickle. I communicated again. I told them I had 8 people in need of a shower for a wedding at 4:00 p.m. They now stated that is what a water pump problem and they have had a part ordered for it. They offered to refund $400.00 for "our inconvenience". I was told it should be installed later Sunday - it was not.Monday morning there was now no water. Again, got the run around from Sonder. After spending over $2000 on the rental we have to check out - it was now a health concern and hazard. We incurred additional expense to rent 3 hotel rooms. The company did not refund the $400, nor the one night rental. I would like the full refund of our costs - $2111.39. The company did not communicate the issues, care for our health with the toilets backing up, nor the pleading for assistance as one in my party was my 84 year old mother.

• Initial Complaint

  10/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Worst lodging and service Ive ever experienced. Front desk manager is not helpful and very shady. There was a leak in my bathroom and they used it as an excuse to cancel my stay without reason, and did not provide me with another room. Communicating via email/phone with customer service was frustrating and they did not provide answers. I was told different things at different times and the front desk manager lied to me about availability of another room to move me to when there was a leak in my room and the onus was on them. The manager told me to find another place to stay essentially leaving me and my young son without lodging. This Sonder, under ****** management, has extremely poor customer service and made me feel uncomfortable and discriminated against on several occasions

• Initial Complaint

  10/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I made a reservation with Sonder through VRBO property id ******** (whom I will file a complaint against as well). When deciding to book this reservation, it gave me a choice; 1) Non-refundable which highlighted that parking was +0 or 2) Refundable for +12. I had already asked the property what parking was and they'd told me $20/night. I chose non-refundable because of the free parking thinking I would save $52.However, after submitting the reservation, Sonder sent a check-in email which I promptly completed. Within this process, it communicated that parking was extra and that I'd have to pay $20/night. The next day, I tried to resolve via the virtual agent who said someone would get back to me. They never did. A few days later, I called the phone number I found in my **** reservation for the property owner. The customer *** was completely unhelpful and told me I would still have to pay for parking despite my showing them the property page (pics attached) says parking would be free.I decided to try VRBO, by filing a complaint on their website. I got an email saying they were looking into it but didn't hear back from them. Today, I called VRBO and got an agent who connected me to the property. At this point, I am just asking for them to cancel and give my $ back because this has been a nightmare and too much of my time. Another 1.5 hrs on the phone and they said they have graciously decided to comp the parking but that's not what I was asking for anymore. I don't want to have anything to do with Sonder or stay at their property. Therefore, I'd like a full refund and am requesting BBB and my credit card ***** to help me. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  10/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  We rented from Sonder for a stay in **** starting 9/29/24. A few hours before our stay I checked my email to discover that the ** in our room was not working. We called Sonder and would have canceled but they said they had a different room for us in another part of the city. We accepted. This was our first time with Sonder and we assumed it was a hotel. It is not. The apartment they gave us did not have a functioning front door to the building. There was a sign on it that said do not close. It was opened to anyone...no key needed. This upset us and we did not feel safe. Also...perhaps because of the open door and our room was facing the street across from an outdoor restaurant...the noise kept us up much of the night. On the 2nd night of a 4 night stay we were again awake at 2AM. We contacted Sonder and said all of this was unacceptable and we would be leaving by the morning and wanted a full refund. We left the apartment at 8AM after finding a real hotel. The original **** was ******* Euros. They refunded us ****** Euros and charged us 30 euros in city tax. The final **** says ******* Euros. This is in the Charges Summary in their ****. But in the section Payment Summary our credit card **** is listed as ******* Euros. Further investigation of the **** reveals shows a cancellation fee ****** Euros. I cannot make sense of the different sections of the ****. We paid for this "hotel" back in September. When I look on my credit card statement I see a charge on 3/22 for $1339.23. All I see on our credit card statement is a credit for $125.55 Further investigation shows that on a website called TrustPilot ************************************************************ there are over 400 complaints.

• Initial Complaint

  09/27/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I rented rooms with Sonder through **** on 9/8/24 in Minneapolis MN to check in 9/15 and check out 9/16. The location that I reserved was at *** ** *** *** ************ ** *****. When we arrived and attempted to check in, we were eventually sent to a different location several blocks away at *** * *** *** ************ ** *****. It took some time to speak to someone on 9/15/24, who explained that the rooms I had reserved were unavailable and that we had been moved to an alternate location. The fact that there was a problem was not communicated in advance, led to confusion and stress, prevented us from being able to check in to any room on time, caused additional costs, and disrupted our plans. Sonder staff apologized and I was told that for the trouble I would receive a refund. I then received a text saying that there was a delay due to a system update. Nothing appeared in my account and I received no follow-up. I contacted Sonder staff again on 9/21/24, and was given mixed messages, first saying that they could find nothing, then saying a partial refund had been processed on 9/15 (I still have not received any), that they were truly sorry, and that they had refunded the remaining balance. I still have not received any of the refunds that I have been promised, and am forced to devote additional time to this matter.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩