Kevin M.
We'd made a point of choosing a place with working AC because Chicago has many older buildings. The room we originally booked had no working air conditioning, and staff led us on without a clear answer about if or when it would be fixed. We spent one night there with no AC before they finally offered a move, after multiple calls asking for one. Poor communication then delayed the move by several hours, taking time away from our planned vacation. Cleaning staff told us that rooms on that side of the building had been having AC problems for years. That wasn't disclosed when we booked, and we surely wouldn't have chosen this apartment if we'd known. We were promised several times that we'd get a refund for 2 out of 3 nights. Two weeks after the stay, nothing had arrived. When I called, I learned the refund hadn't even been started. The representative said management's “final decision” was to return only about 240 dollars, the price of one night, because we'd “got un upgrade” in the replacement room. Nobody had communicated that decision to us; the last thing we'd been told, several times, was that we'd get 2/3rds of the stay refunded. After I argued on the phone for 10 minutes, the representative finally agreed to refund the whole trip for the further trouble caused by their lack of communication. I appreciated getting the full trip refunded, but I wouldn't recommend Sonder to anyone I know (and like). It seems very apparent that they're trying to spend as little as possible on the on-site employees hotels typically need for smooth operation and basic maintenance. Letting people book rooms they know don't have working AC without disclosing the issue is lazy and/or shady business.
