restrictions allowing for an increased volume of nightly travel stays which outpaced the growth of expenses related to adding properties to our vacation portfolio.
General and administrative. General and administrative expenses excluding equity-based compensation increased $11 million from $34 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $45 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of 32%. General and administrative employees were 141 and 148 at September 30, 2021 and 2022, respectively. Overall, our headcount and costs increased to accommodate growth within the business due to increased subscriber base, software system upgrades and costs incurred as a result of operating as a publicly traded company. Our equity-based compensation increased $2.6 million from $2.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $5.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of 91%, as a result of new grants made in the second quarter of 2022 for which expense was recognized over the nine months ended September 30, 2022.
Transaction costs included in general and administrative. The Company incurred $25 million in transaction costs related to the Business Combination during the nine months ended September 30, 2022, consisting of banking, legal and other professional fees, of which $24 million was recorded as a reduction to additional paid-in capital of proceeds and the remaining $1.1 million was expensed within general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expenses increased $12 million from $19 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $31 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of 60%, due to increased spending on television advertising, digital advertising, paid search advertising, and social medial advertising as well as the hiring of additional sales and marketing team members. Sales and marketing employees were 129 and 190 at September 30, 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Operations. Operations expenses increased $14 million from $17 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $31 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of 80%, primarily due to an increase in operations staff required to service our growing customer base and increase in demand for travel. Operations employees were 298 and 349 at September 30, 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Technology and development. Technology and development expenses increased $6.5 million from $3.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $9.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of 220%, primarily due to increased investments in product development and strategic growth initiatives. Technology and development employees were 33 and 95 at September 30, 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expenses increased $0.3 million from $1.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $2.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of 15%, primarily due to recent property and equipment purchases in conjunction with furnishing a growing lease portfolio over the nine months ended September 30, 2022.
Interest income, net. Interest expense decreased 41% from $0.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $0.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022. This change is due to the Company’s pay-off of its Revolver early in the third quarter of 2022. Additionally, the decrease in interest expense was offset by an increase in interest income from $3 thousand for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to $81 thousand for the nine months ended September 30, 2022. This change is due to the Company’s receipt of interest in relation to our cash investments.
Change in fair value of common stock warrant liability. The Company recognized a $3.0 million loss on the quarter-end fair value adjustment related to its outstanding warrant liabilities. See Note 13 - Warrants in our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for more information.
Gain on forgiveness of debt. The Company realized a $9.5 million gain related to the forgiveness of debt during the nine months ended September 30, 2021. See Note 8 – Debt in our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for more information.
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes. Our provision for (benefit from) income taxes consists of an estimate for foreign taxes based on exacted rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, uncertain tax positions, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities and changes in the tax law. We maintain a valuation allowance against the full value of our net deferred tax assets because