Airbnb host accused of sending photo of guest with woman to his wife

Shawn Mackey claimed “superhost” Pamela Fohler took a screenshot of a door camera footage of him with a woman at the Memphis rental home and allegedly emailed the image to his wife.

The Mississippi native claimed the Fohler sent the image after a dispute over fees and penalties for having extra guests and for breaking Fohler’s house rules.

Mackey is suing Airbnb and Fohler, accusing them of invading his privacy, inflicting emotional distress and causing “damage” to his marriage.

According to a court filing obtained by the Post, Mackey rented Fohler’s house in September 2022 for a weekend with friends, making the reservation for a total of four guests.

According to emails attached to the complaint, Mackey had said he may invite additional people over for a dinner to the three-bedroom, two-bath home, but he told the host they will not be spending the night.

“(T)hat sounds like a lovely time,” Fohler reportedly responded. “I would be delighted to host you all.”

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Fohler sent Mackey a long list of house rules with a warning that there was $500 fine if police were called to the house, and a $250 fine, plus a cancellation of the stay, for bringing additional guests.

The home was being rented out at $567 a night with a maximum number of 12 guests.

Discussion of the additional guests turned sour when Mackey updated the number of guests at the home to nine people with “maybe a few more” joining, but he said “only four to five will be staying overnight.”

Fohler responded by stating only eight guests would be permitted at the house and that there would be additional cost per guest, regardless of whether they stay over or not, the lawsuit alleges.

As the evening wore on, Mackey said Fohler demanded that he add the extra guests or have them leave her property.

The host later claimed she had received complaints “of disturbances, yelling and profanity in the parking area” and eventually messaged him to leave her property immediately.

Mackey dismissed Fohler’s claims of disturbances caused by him and his guests and added that only one additional guest ended up showing up for a total of five guests.

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Mackey said he called Fohler’s number but spoke to her husband instead, who assured him that he could “continue his stay without further consequence or interruption.”

The next day, Mackey checked out of the house as planned, thinking the dispute from the previous night was a “misunderstanding,” the lawsuit states.

Shortly after his stay, Mackey wrote a negative review of Fohler’s home on Airbnb and requested a partial refund of $502.46.
His request was denied and his review was allegedly taken down by Airbnb.

Mackey claimed that Fohler began harassing him about his review with the host “obviously concerned about her Airbnb Superhost status.”

An Airbnb representative contacted Mackey telling him his account would be suspended pending an investigation, which could lead to his account potentially being terminated, the lawsuit says.

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Mackey denied breaking any rules and told Airbnb to obtain video footage from Fohler’s property to verify the allegations against him.

Mackey said he then allegedly received a text message from Fohler that included a photograph of him with a woman at 3:16 a.m. taken from one of the cameras at Fohler’s home.

The message from Fohler allegedly asked, “Should I forward the photos and videos to (Mackey’s wife) Teresa, or will you?”

Mackey was billed $960 from Airbnb, that included fines for extra guests and violating house rules.

He claimed Fohler set up a fake email account, which she used to send an email to Mackey’s wife with an image of him with another woman.

Mackey has refused to pay the $960 and is seeking unspecified actual and punitive damages.

Fohler has filed a motion to dismiss the case while Airbnb has filed a motion to compel arbitration.