When a dissatisfied Airbnb guest posted a less-than-glowing review of his stay, he had no idea he was about to set his marriage ablaze.
Mississippi resident Shawn Mackey rented the four-bed, two-bath home for a weekend with old friends in Memphis, according to an eye-popping lawsuit obtained by The Daily Beast.
But after Mackey refused to pay $960 in additional fees and penalties for allegedly having extra guests over and violating two of the house rules, “superhost” Pamela Fohler emailed his wife a photo taken by one of the property’s security cameras, which showed Mackey “in the company of another female” at 3:16 a.m., the suit alleges.
“The plaintiff’s marriage has suffered as a result,” it says, adding that the situation has caused Mackey “extreme emotional distress,” “public humiliation,” and “mental anguish.”
Mackey’s lawyer did not respond to numerous requests for comment on Tuesday. A request sent to Fohler’s attorney on Tuesday went unanswered, as did a request sent to Airbnb’s attorney in the case. Reached by phone, Fohler’s husband declined to make her available, then hung up.
In a text message, Mackey told The Daily Beast, “I would love to speak with you but I have been advised by my attorney that now is not appropriate.”
Mackey’s saga began in July 2022, with a plan to attend a football game in Memphis that fall.
A friend had recommended “Little Bit More Country,” a three-bed, two-bath Airbnb, according to the lawsuit, which was initially filed in September. Mackey booked a stay for two nights, from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11, for a total of four guests. In making the arrangements, Mackey told Fohler that he would be in town to visit longtime acquaintances, and that he “may invite them over for dinner,” emails included in court filings show.
“Very low key,” Mackey assured Fohler. “Please let me know if there are any concerns.”
“[T]hat sounds like a lovely time,” Fohler wrote back. “I would be delighted to host you all.”
The home, which Mackey was renting for $567 a night, could accommodate up to 12 guests, according to the listing.
“Forget your worries in this spacious and serene space!” it told prospective renters of the “beautiful home nestled in the outskirts” of town.
The Airbnb property Shawn Mackey booked for a weekend with friends.
Fohler asked Mackey to “register” anyone planning to visit the property, even if they weren’t going to stay overnight, the suit says. Mackey, who said he and his wife list their own home on Airbnb, was confused by the demand but told Fohler he would submit a list of names as requested.
In a confirmation email, Fohler supplied a list of additional house rules: no smoking or vaping, no excessive noise, no guests from the local area, no parking in front of the garage doors or on the right side of the driveway, no glass, food, drinks, or urinating in the pool, and no skinnydipping. There would be a $500 fine, “AT OUR SOLE DISCRETION,” if police were called to the property “for any reason,” and a $250 fine, plus cancellation of the stay, for arriving with additional guests. Mackey’s reservation was for four, but Fohler said in the email, “You may update guest counts at any time.”
However, it warned, “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.”
“Rest assured, we will take great care of your home,” Mackey told Fohler.
On Sept. 9, Mackey messaged Fohler through the Airbnb app and let her know he’d be a late check-in. In an effort to comply with the house rules, Mackey provided a list of everyone who would be joining him for dinner that night.
“The reservation said we could have up to 12 guest [sic], some of those include: Stacy, Carol, Ursula, Kim, Tony, Marlon, Twentis, Daryl, Darius, and maybe a few more,” he wrote, according to the lawsuit. “Only 4-5 will be staying overnight.”
Ten minutes later, Fohler responded, the lawsuit states.
“Hello Shawn, we will be able to accommodate a max of 8 guests,” she wrote. “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. Thank you for understanding.”
About 45 minutes later, an increasingly frantic Fohler messaged Mackey again.
“Hello Shawn, I am asking you to either add the extra guests now or have them leave immediately,” she wrote, according to the suit. “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.”
Some 15 minutes after that, Fohler messaged Mackey yet again.
“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,” the suit says Fohler wrote. “I am asking you to leave now. I can’t allow you to stay, I am sorry.”
Mackey’s lawsuit insists: “None of this was true.”
“Instead of the additional guests initially listed, only one additional guest had actually shown up for a total of five guests at the home,” the suit argues. “No party had taken place. No one had been yelling or cursing in the parking lot.”
With nowhere else to go, Mackey called Fohler to speak with her directly, according to the lawsuit, which says Fohler’s husband, Jamie, answered the phone. Mackey explained the situation to Jamie, who said Mackey “could continue his stay without further consequence or interruption,” the suit explains.
The next morning, Mackey received a message from Fohler, via Airbnb, confirming he would be checking out the following day and providing instructions to strip the beds and load the dishwasher.
“Don’t forget to turn off the lights, lock the door, and we wish you safe travels on your journey!” the message concluded.
On Sept. 11, Mackey and his guests checked out “in accordance with his agreement with the host,” the lawsuit states.
“At the time he checked out of the property, [Mackey], who had broken no rules and had spoken to the host, thought all issues had been resolved as simply a misunderstanding,” it says.
Dissatisfied with his experience at “Little Bit More Country,” Mackey left a review on the Airbnb site “expressing his concerns associated with his stay,” according to the lawsuit.
He also requested a partial refund of $502.46, which the suit says was denied.
“After the posted review, Fohler began harassing [Mackey] about his review and was obviously concerned about her Airbnb Superhost status,” the suit continues, claiming that Airbnb subsequently removed the negative review.
On Sept. 14, an Airbnb representative contacted Mackey and said the company would be opening an inquiry into his claims. While it was underway, Mackey’s account would be suspended—and would be terminated if Mackey “failed to follow the Airbnb Community Standards,” the rep told him, according to the lawsuit.
“No indication was given that any such punitive action was ever initiated against Fohler,” the suit contends.
The next day, Mackey tried to set the record straight with the Airbnb rep, according to the suit.
“We did not break or violate any rules,” he wrote. “If I need to file a formal complaint, then I will. The host have [sic] multiple cameras ‘with audio’ at the property, I would strongly recommend that your [sic] ask them for a copy of the footage to validate any rule violation they made against me or any guest… If my issues, concerns, hostile treatment, or discrimination is not of a concern to Airbnb, then by all means suspend or terminate my account.”
On Sept. 17, Mackey’s phone buzzed with a text message from Fohler, the lawsuit states.
“Hello Shawn, hope you are well,” the text began. “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 [Mackey’s wife] Teresa, or will you?”
The videos were too large to be sent by text, so Fohler told Mackey she would post them to YouTube “shortly,” according to the suit.
“Have a wonderful weekend,” she wrote.
Attached to the text message, the lawsuit states, “was a photograph depicting [Mackey] in the company of another female (not his wife) taken by one of the cameras at Fohler’s Airbnb home.”
Two days later, Mackey received a bill from Airbnb for $960, according to the suit.
He was being fined $160 for four extra guests (two nights at $20 a night), $250 for violating “rule #6” (no local guests allowed), $250 for violating “rule #8” (excessive noise), and $300 for “moderation of your review,” the lawsuit alleges.
But Mackey refused to pay, which is when he claims things took a turn for the worse.
As “retaliation for his failure to comply” with the payment demands, the lawsuit says Fohler “set up a phony email account, apparently pretending to be [Mackey], with a deviant sexual internal reference — ‘Shawn69@outlook.com.’”
Then, on September 20, 2022, the suit claims Fohler “sent the photograph to [Mackey’s] wife, at her place of employment, through email.” The subject line read, “Nice bag,” and the picture of Mackey and the unidentified woman was embedded in the body of the email. “I love your bag, where’d you get it?” the message read.
Mackey reported the “extortion attempt” to Airbnb, dashing off a furious message about her “criminal and therefore illegal” behavior,” the suit states.
“Instead of reacting as any decent person or even decent corporation would at such illegal and abhorrent conduct, Airbnb sided with its Superhost,” it says.
Airbnb did nothing more than “put a note” on Mackey’s account about the “very sensitive situation,” according to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, his relationship with his wife deteriorated as a result of the photo Fohler sent to her, the suit alleges. (In a response filed in court in December, Fohler denied ever sending the email and insisted she “has never had any kind of correspondence with Plaintiff’s wife.”)
Mackey “has suffered economic damages and damages to his marriage, and emotional damages as a result to [sic] the Defendants’ invasion of his privacy rights,” it says.
Lawsuits against Airbnb hosts, and the company, by extension, are not uncommon. Guests have sued hosts for sexual assault, racial discrimination, and for renting out homes infested with bats. Hosts have also sued guests for overstaying their bookings by as long as 17 months. Mackey is asking for damages, actual and punitive, and an injunction “to prevent similar action taken against [other] customers of Airbnb.”
Airbnb has filed a motion to compel arbitration; Fohler has filed a motion to dismiss. Mackey has until Feb. 21 to file his response to both.
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Nikkei Editorial
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
visit website
