TravelAI, a Canadian company positioned as “The Travel Memory Company”, has announced the acquisition of the Sonder brand, comprising the Sonder name, its trademarks registered worldwide and a domain portfolio including Sonder.com. The deal covers only the brand and intellectual property: TravelAI has not taken over Sonder’s operational business, its properties, leases, inventory or staff.
Founded in Montreal in 2014 and listed on the Nasdaq, the former Sonder had established itself over more than a decade as a leader in design-led urban stays, spanning upscale apartments and boutique hotels. In November 2025, following Marriott International’s announcement that it was ending its partnership with Sonder, the group’s parent company began winding down its operations. Its Canadian subsidiaries, Sonder Canada Inc. and Hospitalité Sonder Canada Inc., subsequently filed for bankruptcy under Canadian insolvency law.
It was through this court-supervised process that UpNext Ventures Inc., parent company of TravelAI, acquired the rights to the Sonder brand portfolio, comprising more than 50 trademark registrations worldwide and more than 70 domain names. The Superior Court of Québec approved the sale on 6 July 2026, and the transaction closed on 13 July 2026. It does not involve Sonder Holdings Inc., whose stock remains separately listed on the OTC market.
“Sonder had earned something rare: a name people remember and a standard of taste that guests trusted,” said John Lyotier, co-founder and CEO of TravelAI. He noted that the company had not bought a portfolio of buildings, but a travel brand whose name already matches what TravelAI is building with its memory infrastructure.
The new Sonder.com positions itself not as a hotel operator, but as a curated guide to the best urban stays, drawing on a global network of professionally managed apartments and boutique hotels from TravelAI’s distribution partners. The platform covers New York, Chicago, Boston, Miami, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubai and most of the world’s major cities, with bookings handled by TravelAI’s partners.
Sonder joins a portfolio of travel brands acquired and relaunched by TravelAI in recent years, including Casai, Smartours and OwnerDirect. In parallel, the company is developing Traveler.md, a portable, traveller-owned memory layer, currently in public beta, which retains preferences and travel history from one stay to the next. According to TravelAI, the company applies its AI infrastructure across a network of more than 530 travel brands, serving more than 50 million travellers a year in 200 countries.
🔗 Also on LTH: Sonder Holdings in liquidation
At a Glance
TravelAI Acquires the Sonder Brand
TravelAI (UpNext Ventures Inc.) acquires the Sonder word mark, 50+ global trademarks and 70+ domains, including Sonder.com
Acquisition limited to brand and IP — no properties, leases, inventory or staff included
Acquired through the court-supervised bankruptcy of Sonder’s Canadian entities; sale approved by the Superior Court of Québec, closed 13 July 2026
Not affiliated with Sonder Holdings Inc. (OTC: SONDQ)
New Sonder.com relaunches as a curated guide to boutique hotels and urban stays, powered by TravelAI’s Traveler.md memory layer
Joins TravelAI’s brand portfolio alongside Casai, Smartours and OwnerDirect
