I once stayed in a shared Airbnb in Brooklyn that was a bit, well, meh. Not gross or unsafe. The cat was chill. The bed was clean. It was just kind of schlumpy when you stared at it for too long. I just shrugged—I only needed a place to sleep, after all, and I think that’s an outlook we gamble with when we book Airbnbs. We’re here for the convenience and the affordable prices, and (unless we’re booking that Vermont Airbnb with a sauna) we tend to settle for a room that is “close enough” to what we saw online. And it’s almost always fine. But damn, if it wouldn’t have been nice to have a fresh bottle of shampoo waiting, or a more straightforward check-in, right?
[Sonder enters the chat.]
Sonder hopes to combine the personableness, coziness, and affordable prices of a home share experience with all the professionalism of a hotel. The vacation home rental platform leases and manages its apartments, so you’re not stuck trying to text That Host Guy, Jeff, about…