Payback is sweet…until you get sued. In an explosive claim, a Mississippi man claims that his Airbnb host sent surveillance photos of him with another woman to the man’s wife causing irreparable harm to their marriage. The host denies she sent anything.
Explosive Claim: Airbnb Host Sent Man’s Wife Photos Of Him With Another Woman After He Left A Negative Review
Shawn Mackey rented a large house in Memphis, Tennessee that Airbnb host Pamela Fohler said could host up to 12 guests. He was attending a football game and wanted to host friends. But he did not bargain for the level of supervision he would face.
Fohler instructed Mackey to “register” any visitor to the property, even if they were not staying overnight. Additional “house rules” included prohibitions against:
- smoking or vaping
- excessive noise
- guests from the local area
- parking in front of the garage doors or on the right side of the driveway
- glass, food, drinks, or urinating in the pool
- skinny dipping
Mackey was also warned there would be a $500 “fine” if police were called and a $250 fine (plus cancellation of the stay) if additional guests showed up who were not registered.
A further warning:
“SECURITY CAMERAS on the exterior of the house are in use at all times and are used to verify guest count, noise, and any disturbances.”
Yikes.
Mackey sent ahead a guest list that included nine named guests “and maybe a few more.” He also mentioned that only four or five would be staying overnight.
Fohler quickly wrote back saying that only eight guests could be accommodated and there would be an additional charge for each one.
“This is due to the city restrictions and capacity at our home. I apologize we had not discuss [sic] the guest count tripling. Each guest does have to be put on Airbnb and accounted for per Airbnb rules and insurance requirements. There is a cost to each guest even if they do not spend the night. I should also remind you about the strict no parties rule.”
Before Mackey could respond, Fohler emailed again:
“Hello Shawn, I am asking you to either add the extra guests now or have them leave immediately. We have also gotten complaints of disturbances, yelling and profanity in the parking area. Our home is in a quiet neighborhood and we need to maintain that.”
Once again, before Mackey could even respond:
“I am very sorry but you have violated the no party rule, disturbed my neighbors by cursing and yelling in the parking lot, and have unauthorized guests. I am asking you to leave now. I can’t allow you to stay, I am sorry.”
Mackey finally stepped in: not so fast.
Only five guests were actually present, all named. He denied that he or anyone in his party yelled or cursed in the parking lot.
Per the lawsuit, he called the host, spoke to her husband, and smoothed everything out. Per his lawsuit, they were not asked to leave. On the contrary, they were told they could stay. And they did until the pre-arranged check-out date.
But upon check-out, Mackey was hit with a $960 fee for alleged violations. He protested and left a negative review. This prompted Fohler to “harass” Mackey over the negative review (she eventually got Airbnb to remove it).
Mackey was adamant he and his friends did nothing wrong and demanded video and audio evidence to prove it, noting that Fohler had cameras all over the property.
Eventually Fohler did share some photos and sent Mackey the following text:
“Hello Shawn, hope you are well. Sorry it took so long to get the photos you requested together to show your stay at our home. But I had faith, was driven by integrity, so I committed to get these posted for you and Airbnb. Photo at 3:16 AM is especially notable. Should I forward the photos and videos to Teresa, or will you?”
Teresa is Mackey’s wife…
Backed with photo evidence, Airbnb upheld the $960 fee, including:
- $160 for four extra guests
- $250 for having local guests over
- $250 for excessive noise
- $300 for “moderation of your review”
That last one is a head-scratcher.
As a result of the shared image (above), Mackey alleges, “The plaintiff’s marriage has suffered as a result,” and caused “extreme emotional distress…public humiliation…and mental anguish.”
But the story takes one more twist.
Remember, that text message above was to him.
A few weeks later, after Mackey refused to pay the $960, an email account (“[email protected]”) that Mackey had never created sent the photo above to his wife’s work email, along with the line: “I love your bag, where’d you get it?”
Fohler denies she sent the note.
My Thoughts
I think Mackey was guilty of making noise and bringing in more guests….he may have been fooling around with another woman too. But I also think that the rules and security cameras were far too much in the first place and it seems to me there is no other reasonable suspect other than Fohler as far as who sent the email to his wife.
I think this whole incident shows why I am generally happy to avoid Airbnb and also why some of these so-called “sueprhosts” are simply not worth dealign it. The laundry lists of rules may it seem like a military boarding school…
I’m not particularly sympathetic to either side, though it will be interesting to see how this case progresses and I will be following it closely.
You can review the lawsuit here. Everything is there. All the email exchanges are included in the record.
CONCLUSION
An Airbnb hosts faces a lawsuit after a guest claims she deliberately and maliciously sent a photo of him with another woman to his wife. As we await for more facts to emerge, I think the takeaway is that you best understand what kind of host you are getting involved with before renting via Airbnb or any other booking platform.
image: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
