E-Paper
Guest slapped with $10,000 bill over selfie at vacation rental: ‘Complete nightmare’
A famous vacation rental in the middle of California’s desert has made the news after slapping a guest with a $10,000 fee over a selfie.
A famous vacation rental in the middle of California’s desert has made the news after slapping a guest with a $10,000 fee over a selfie. TikToker Sean Davis said his stay at the viral 'Invisible House' — a glass-wrapped mansion in the Joshua Tree — was nothing short of a nightmare.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 1.3 million times, Davis said that a dream photo shoot at the famous property snowballed into an expensive dispute with its owner.
“We didn’t let them know we were taking some photos outside and got shook down for 10k over a selfie tagging a brand not even mine,” he said in the caption of his TikTok video.
Here’s what happened
Davis rented the house for what he imagined would be a simple photo shoot.
According to him, a friend’s girlfriend took a selfie in the bathroom and posted it on Instagram, tagging a brand.
The image was later re-shared, triggering a clause about commercial photography in the vacation rental and leading to a hefty fine.
“We didn’t actually shoot any brand content in the house,” Davis clarified in a follow-up post. “We shot outside, but they had an issue with a selfie.”
Davis said he was shocked when the hosts demanded an extra $10,000 — even though the selfie was not taken with a professional camera and was not part of a commercial campaign.
He warned travellers against booking the property, saying that it “Looks cool, but is a complete nightmare”.
More about the rental
The 5,500-square-foot Invisible House in Joshua Tree is a striking mirrored mansion that seems to disappear into the desert landscape. Built by Hollywood producers Chris and Roberta Hanley — known for American Psycho and Spring Breakers — the home sits on 90 acres of land right next to Joshua Tree National Park.
Valued at $18 million, it has four bedrooms, a 100-foot solar-heated indoor pool, and even its own private mountain peak. The house has been featured on Netflix’s World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals and visited by stars like Demi Lovato, Lizzo, and Diplo.
