Sonder Sets Shareholder Meeting to Approve Stock Split to Stay on Nasdaq

Looking for a short-term rental stay via Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com in New York City for the Thanksgiving holiday? One week after the city implemented tough host registration requirements, you can expect to see listings that violate the rules, more hotels, and stays in New Jersey.

Property manager Vacasa announced its intent to conduct a one-for-20 reverse stock split that’s geared to get its share price higher than $1 per share and therefore to be continued to trade on Nasdaq.

New York City’s Office of Special Enforcement has approved only 257 short-term rental host registrations — out of 3,250 applications — ahead of a September 5 enforcement deadline.

If you follow the short-term rental industry, you would have read or heard Sonder touting itself as “a leading next-generation hospitality company that is redefining the guest experience through technology and design” countless times.

HotelTonight founder and CEO Sam Shank helped build the fastest and easiest to use hotel booking app in the world — initially focused on guests booking last-minute and same-day hotel rooms, sometimes from the local bar — but he hung around Airbnb for three years and eight months after the short-term rental site acquired the business, and Thursday was his last day there.

In a second round of cuts since mid-year, property manager AvantStay laid off 144 staffers, about 22 percent of its workforce, according to a published report from Short Term Rentalz.

Hospitality company Sonder Holdings said that it has been investigating a data breach involving unauthorized access to some guest records.

In an era when travelers see short-term rentals as an ever-more attractive choice, Booking.com’s mix of bookings for these types of accommodations on its platforms in the third quarter ticked up just “slightly” compared with 2019 to around 30 percent, the company said. Isn’t this an historic failure? Shouldn’t Booking.com be gaining more ground?

Property manager Sonder is positioning itself long-term to take advantage of higher-spending business travelers, and added 200 corporate travel accounts — and a former CWT CEO to its board — during the third quarter.

UnderTheDoormat Group CEO Merilee Karr said her company’s new technology and distribution agreement with Visit Oman can be a novel approach to short-term regulation — one where technology can spur governments to embrace the sector rather than shun it.

Property manager Sonder did something that Airbnb can’t and most management companies have been loathe to do — the company eliminated cleaning fees for guests.

Property manager Sonder, which continued to tout itself as “a leading next-generation hospitality company that is redefining the guest experience through technology and design,” laid off 14 percent of its corporate workforce.