Apartment-style accommodations provider Sonder Holdings has released its delayed fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, detailing in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the extent of its portfolio reduction.
Sonder for the past year has delayed filing financial reports with the SEC after announcing in March 2024 that it had discovered “accounting errors related to the valuation and impairment of operating lease right of use assets and related items” for 2022 and 2023. The SEC in April warned Sonder that its fourth-quarter and full-year reports were delinquent.
Sonder’s fourth-quarter revenue per available room increased 19 percent year over year to $180, while its occupancy level increased 3 percentage points to 85 percent, the company said in a statement. Total revenue declined 2 percent to $161 million, and net income was $31 million.
For the full year, Sonder’s RevPAR increased to $159 from $151 the year prior, while average daily rate increased to $196 from $184 and occupancy declined 1.1 percentage points to 80.9 percent.
Total full-year revenue increased 3 percent to $621 million, while Sonder’s net loss was $224 million, compared with a loss of $296 million the year prior.
Sonder in the SEC filing said its revenue increased “primarily due to a 5.3 percent increase in RevPAR, partially offset by a 2.1 percent decrease in bookable nights. The increase in RevPAR was primarily driven by the portfolio optimization program and broader travel industry trends.”
Sonder throughout 2024 significantly reduced its room supply. Sonder at the end of 2024 had 9,900 live bookable units, down 19 percent from one year prior.
The report comes at a time of change for Sonder, which in June announced all its inventory was available for booking in Marriott International’s distribution channels, per an August 2024 agreement.
Also in June, co-founder Francis Davidson stepped down as CEO and as a member of the company’s board of directors, replaced on an interim basis by board chairperson Janice Sears. Davidson recapped his tenurein a LinkedIn post, pointing to Covid-19, the company’s 2022 move to go public via special-purpose acquisition company and its fast expansion as challenges, while citing the Marriott deal as a potential lifeline.
Still, Sonder in Thursday’s filing acknowledged its “substantial doubt” about its ability to remain a going concern for the next year.
The company in the filing also acknowledged that corporate and group travel “are typically significant revenue sources for urban hotels, but have not been a significant revenue source for us historically,” but said it had developed a sales team to focus on the segments. Sonder noted a $1.5 million increase in 2024 employee compensation due to growth of the corporate sales team, even as it reduced corporate headcount.
Sonder in the filing said direct bookings through Sonder’s website, app or in person accounted for 45.8 percent of 2024 revenue, down from 47 percent in 2023.
Sonder CEO Davidson Steps Down
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