Dive Brief:
- Sonder Holdings named Michael Hughes CFO, effective Jan. 22, the San Francisco-based company announced Tuesday.
- Hughes joins the apartment-style accommodations provider from real estate investment trust Spirit Realty Capital, where he was also CFO. He takes over for Dominique Bourgault, who stepped down Dec. 2, a Sonder spokesperson told Hotel Dive.
- Hughes’ appointment comes as Sonder integrates with Marriott International as part of a strategic licensing agreement that adds thousands of Sonder rooms to Marriott’s pipeline and portfolio.
Dive Insight:
In his previous role, Hughes helped lead Spirit Capital Realty’s multiyear strategic transformation and $9.3 billion sale to Realty Income Corporation, according to Sonder.
His prior experience also includes leadership roles at upper upscale focused real estate investment trust FeiCor Lodging Trust, where he was CFO, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, where he was a vice president of corporate finance.
“Our integration efforts with Marriott International are progressing very well and with the recent actions we have taken to significantly strengthen our balance sheet, Michael’s proven expertise will be immediately additive to the work we are doing to unlock opportunities to advance our core value drivers and generate increased revenue and cost efficiency,” said Sonder co-founder and CEO Francis Davidson in a statement.
The firm announced its partnership with Marriott in August amid legal battles with disgruntled investors, following Sonder reporting “accounting errors” in March 2024 that discredited its financial statements for the fiscal years of 2022 and 2023. In November, Sonder announced that it had regained full NASDAQ compliance.
Hotel industry experts told Hotel Dive in August that the Marriott-Sonder tie-up could create value for both companies.
