Quebec lends millions to short-term rental firm
Quebec is lending millions to Sonder, an American short term rental firm that’s one of the outfits accused of soaking up the rental stock here. A sidebar on TVA describes a typical Airbnb stay and shows us some Montreal locations managed by Sonder.
DeWolf 08:56 on 2022-06-08 Permalink
It’s worth noting that none of the examples in the JdM story were previously residential – there’s a long-abandoned building, a former clinic, and two floors of a shopping mall. Although the TVA story mentions Sonder sub-letting condos in Griffintown, and some drama in the US, Sonder generally operates in commercial buildings, like former office buildings downtown and the old Guérin textbook factory on the Plateau, or in new-build towers like the one at de Maisonneuve and Mackay. And they operate legally, unlike most listings on Airbnb.
Quebec needs to do more to crack down on the illegal short-term rentals that have taken ordinary apartments off the market, but I don’t really see the problem with a company that is running self-service hotels in commercial properties.
Spi 09:25 on 2022-06-08 Permalink
Although Sonder is now an American firm based in Silicon Valley, they have deep roots in Montreal. Their founders are all McGill alums, it was founded and based in Montreal for several years until they needed more VC funding which prompted the move to California.
Ephraim 10:24 on 2022-06-08 Permalink
The IPOed at $10 a share… they are now at $1.99 a share with a low of $1.68 a share (if I remember right). So personally, I see it as a long term buy and hold… but that’s just my personal opinion. They are still losing money… but any company on expansion would need to be. And of course, will come a time when they are interesting as a buy for someone else, who will likely pull them out of AirBnB because the commissions are HIGH. Unless they have a much lower negotiated rate.
And Sonder does AirBnB legally. Essentially they are a hotel chain that basically started using AirBnB as their retailer. They do book directly now. But generally now either build or buy a block within a building, so not illegal short-term rentals… though that is how they started.