General Manager- Washington, DC

Sonder; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Sonder is seeking a General Manager for its Washington, DC location, responsible for leading the team and ensuring exceptional guest experiences. Ideal candidates have extensive hospitality experience and an entrepreneurial mindset, ready to drive growth and build a service-oriented culture.

Benefits

Attractive employee travel perks

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Flexible vacation

Wellness and volunteering days

Annual free credits and discounts to stay in Sonders

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in hospitality, operations, or management.
• Ability to thrive autonomously in individual markets.

Responsibilities

• Manage the P&L and lead a hospitality-focused team.
• Engage with local stakeholders and drive market strategy.

Skills

Analytical skills

Team Leadership

Communication

Problem Solving

Creative Thinking

Education

MBA

Job description

General Manager- Washington, DC page is loaded

General Manager- Washington, DC

Apply locations Washington DC time type Full time posted on Posted 13 Days Ago job requisition id JR103101

Sonder (NASDAQ: SOND) is a leading global hospitality brand, offering premium, design-forward apartments and intimate boutique hotels for the modern, savvy traveler. Founded in 2014, Sonder combines thoughtfully designed spaces with seamless, tech-enabled service — all delivered through a single, beautifully integrated experience.

Our properties are located in the world’s most sought-after neighborhoods, spanning 40+ markets across nine countries and three continents. Through the Sonder app, guests enjoy full control over their stay — from self check-in to 24/7 support — making every detail of travel easier, more flexible, and more inspiring.

In 2024, we announced a strategic partnership with Marriott International, bringing Sonder properties to Marriott.com and the Marriott Bonvoy app. This integration connects our inventory and front of house and back of house systems with the world’s largest travel loyalty platform — unlocking exciting new possibilities for our guests and employees.

Sonder is focused on delivering amazing experiences for the modern traveler while driving smart, sustainable growth. Our team blends the agility of a tech company with the standards of a global hospitality brand — and we’re building something that’s reshaping the future of travel.

Life at Sonder

We aspire to build a workplace where employees can thrive. Our culture shapes how we make decisions, how we conduct meetings, how we communicate, and how we treat each other. It’s the coordinated way in which we work that gives us a shot at achieving the epic tale we hope to be part of. Our Leadership Principles are a foundational part of our culture and they play a vital role in guiding the values and actions of our team members. Each of these principles is at the heart of what we do.Check out this article to find out more about our Culture and Principles.

Considering Sonder’s global expansion plans, there will be opportunities for extraordinary personal and professional growth for the right candidate.

The General Manager position is one of the most impactful roles at Sonder. As the leader of Sonder in Washington, DC/ Georgetown , you will be responsible for ensuring the success of the market, which includes delivering a five star guest experience, driving growth, maximizing revenue and controlling costs to achieve strong unit economics and paybacks, and creating a memorable local guest experience that drives repeat guests. The GM will also build and maintain a hospitality-focused culture to deliver the Sonder vision and experience to thousands of guests. You will manage the P&L and are responsible for consistently delivering on our brand promise across operations, hospitality, and real estate while scaling the city.

If you have an entrepreneurial mindset and natural desire to get stuff done, we definitely want to hear from you.

AT SONDER YOU WILL:

• Build and manage a world-class team of individuals focused on hospitality, operations, and real estate

• Create, deliver, and maintain a service-oriented local team culture rooted in guest centricity, helping us to create amazing experiences for our guests

• Co-create a local growth strategy with the Real Estate team that incorporates supply and demand, regulations, and Sonder’s goals related to profitability and guest experience

• Engage with Public Policy stakeholders in the market to incorporate public policy into the market strategy while aligning it with Sonder"s mission and brand values

• Oversee the signing, onboarding, opening, and ramp-up of new buildings and hotels in line with the city’s growth ambition.

• Manage your city’s P&L (similar to a business unit), including forecasting targets, tracking performance, and driving innovative initiatives to maximize profitability

• Define and execute strategic vision: translate Sonder goals into operational plans that will guide the Sonder experience at a local level

• Build and develop strong relationships with senior cross-functional leaders (e.g. revenue, central operations, real estate, finance, technology) in order to communicate local needs and drive change, leveraging a cross functional matrix to support local operations

• Build and manage relationships with landlords, asset managers, and property owners of both hotel and multi-family buildings to ensure successful operating partnerships.

• Overcome obstacles, solve problems, and develop a path forward through ambiguity, operating a dynamic and rapidly growing business

• Partner with other Sonder markets to create and share scalable best practices and deploy “playbooks” that improve the guest experience and operations at scale and for other markets. Build a capability center of excellence based on the market’s unique profile, guest mix, or product portfolio to serve other Sonder markets.

• Develop the capability to oversee additional cities as “satellite” markets that leverage the leadership and scale infrastructure of a main market

• Create, deliver, and maintain a service-oriented local team culture rooted in guest centricity, helping us to create amazing experiences for our guests

WHAT WE LOOK FOR:

• Extensive Experience in hospitality, operations, management, professional services or other related fields

• An analytical and data-driven decision making mentality

• Experience with or strong excitement for a startup environment

• Proven track record of leading, managing, and developing high-performing teams

• An ultimate team player with strong written and verbal communication skills

• Strength in building positive cross-functional relationships to accomplish goals

• Out-of-the-box thinker who will find creative ways to hit growth targets

• Ability to thrive autonomously in an individual market while leveraging central resources and supporting effectively

• MBA preferred

• Hospitality experience and experience of scaling an operationally complex business preferred

Salary Range: $110,000 - $150,000 USD

Benefits

We offer attractive employee travel perks for any Sonder location as well as health and lifestyle benefits. For eligible employees, benefits may include:

• Competitive compensation

• Medical, dental and vision insurance (where applicable)

• Flexible vacation

• Wellness and volunteering days

• Annual free credits and discounts to stay in Sonders

• Workplace flexibility (for remote-specified positions only) #ABetterWaytoWork

Learn More About Sonder

• Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability

• Data Privacy Policy

• Blog: Sonder Stories

• Instagram: @sonderstays

Equal Opportunity

We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other classification protected by applicable state, federal or local law. Extend Hospitality To All is one of Sonder’s Leadership Principles. Living up to that principle means fully embracing diversity: ensuring that all of our employees, guests, partners, and communities feel safe, respected, included, cared for, and empowered.

As part of our commitment to creating a workplace open to all, we have created Sonder Circles, also known as employee resource groups. These groups aim to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace aligned with the communities they serve.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to [e-mail] .

Are you being referred to one of our roles? If so, ask your connection at Sonder about our Employee Referral process!

Competitive Salaries
We strive to be at or above market rates for base salaries.

Stock Options
Our Success is your success. Exempt employees are part of our generous equity program.

Health & Well-Being
Eligible employees have access to our medical, dental, life, vision, and disability insurance plan. (If applicable, depending on location)

Travel
Annual credits toward Sonder bookings as well as stay discounts for friends and family.