An Airbnb host from the US has been sued after she sent a photo of a guest with another woman to his wife.
An Airbnb host sent a photo of her guest with another woman to his wife. (Pic: Mississippi District Court)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 19, 2024 14:32 IST
Pamela Fohler, an Airbnb host from the US, has been sued by a guest after she sent his picture with another woman to his wife. In 2022, Shawn Mackey visited Memphis, Tennessee during which he put up at Pamela’s Airbnb home on rent. US website The Daily Beast has now obtained court documents that state Shawn is suing Airbnb and Pamela, The Independent reports.
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Four of Shawn’s friends were supposed to stay with him, although he wanted an Airbnb where he could also bring other guests if he wished to at some point in time. Details mentioned in the lawsuit state that Shawn rented Pamela’s Airbnb home from September 9-11, 2022, and had also informed her that some other guests would be there for dinner at the place on a particular date. However, he did tell her that they would not stay over.
As mentioned in the booking, Pamela’s Airbnb home could accommodate up to 12 people. To avoid confusion, Shawn had later sent across a list of the guests who would be there with him at home and those who might stay behind.
Things, however, took a twisted turn as Pamela apparently told Shawn that her Airbnb home could only accommodate eight people, as opposed to the booking details that mentioned 12. Moreover, Pamela said that there would be an additional cost for each guest, irrespective of whether they were spending the night. She also said that only four cars could be parked at her home.
The suit also alleged that Pamela asked Shawn to register the additional guests on the list or leave immediately. This apart, she claimed that she had received complaints of people yelling and swearing in the parking lot. Sometime later, she asked Shawn to leave the home.
Shawn refuted the allegations in the complaint that states, “No party had taken place. No one had been yelling or cursing in the parking lot.”
Soon enough, Shawn realised that it was futile to speak to Pamela, after which he spoke to her husband, who told him he could continue staying at the property. All of this went in vain because Pamela sent check-out instructions for the next day to Shawn soon after.
As mentioned in the complaint, Shawn found himself locked out of the home that night after he returned from an outing. However, he was granted access to the home again after he managed to speak to the owner.
Severe drama unfolded after he left a negative review on Pamela’s Airbnb account after checking out the next day. As mentioned in the complaint, Shawn also requested a refund of $502.
Shawn was thereafter harassed by Pamela for the negative review while she had Airbnb take it off the website. The accommodation company also suspended Shawn’s account for a month.
It did not end there as Pamela sent Shawn a message after a few days that read, “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 3.16am is especially notable. Should I forward the photos and videos to Teresa or will you? The videos will come shortly. I think they are too big for text so I will post to YouTube.”
Teresa is Shawn’s wife and the woman photographed with him was not her, the complaint states. The “picture was taken by one of the cameras at the Airbnb home,” according to the court document.
What’s worse is that Airbnb contacted Shawn soon after and informed him that he owed $950. After Shawn refused to pay the fine, Pamela allegedly sent the picture in question to his wife’s work email address with the subject line “I like your bag”. The suit states that Shawn’s marriage has suffered as a result of Pamela’s act.
As a result of the actions taken by Pamela Fohler and Airbnb, Shawn Mackey “has been injured, suffered actual damages, public humiliation, embarrassment, mental anguish and monetary losses,” the suit states.
Published By:
Raya Ghosh
Published On:
Feb 19, 2024
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