A $10,000 selfie has captured the headlines.
In a series of now viral videos sent to Tiktok, entrepreneur Sean Davis claims that Joshua Tree’s luxury short-term rental gave him a five-digit bill after someone took pictures in the bathroom and tagged a brand on social media at his party. The tabloid runs with the story.
But that’s not entirely true, according to the owner of Mirror Wall, known as the Invisible House. They said they received production fees charged by Davis after taking an unmanipulated photo of his apparel company on trademark properties in June 2021.
“His intention was to shoot something there, and he thought he could call it a work everywhere,” said Chris Hanley, the shop owner of the filmmaker, who spoke over the phone from another architectural property he owned on Lamu Island in Kenya.
Davis said he was surprised that his videos attracted a lot of attention given his followers. John Geiger’s co-founder of clothing and footwear said he kept the invisible house to the company’s retreat but hoped to make the most of the reservation by shooting content in his surroundings.
During his stay, Davis and three other (a business partner, a photographer and model) walked away from home what they thought was an open desert photo shoot. He said they did not realize that the house was located on 90 acres and that unlicensed commercial activities were prohibited anywhere on the property.
“If you respect the house, if you use the desert to shoot content with four people and a camera, why are there any questions?” Davis said. “That’s not to say it’s a huge piece.”
That’s the key to the dispute: Are there a few innocent photos or unauthorized productions?
Hanley and his wife Roberta were 2019 screenwriters and directors, who built the invisible house in 2019. Some of the modern art installations, which have appeared in architectural abstracts and serve as the backdrop for more than 100 works, including the movements of Hermes and BMW, Hanley said, and famous photographer Annie Leibovitz shot famous photographers there. Some of the shots also took place outside the house – the property’s natural landscape is its own unique work of art, he said.
Hanley said the home could be reserved as a short-term rental of about $3,000 a night, or booking commercial events for about $1,000 an hour, plus additional fees associated with movie licenses and on-site management. He said the business activities also require paperwork to allow brands to use the property’s copyright and trademark.
“Everyone knows you don’t allow shooting there,” said Roberta Hanley. “The house is copyrighted to be visual – the whole place, the whole concept.”
Hanley said that although Davis booked the property through a short-term rental platform, security cameras caught the photos he was taking outside. They say he does not have a permit or licensed pilot to bring the drone into the house, which could cause damage.
Davis said in the video that his accommodation costs $10,000 and another $10,000 for photos-related fees, but Hanleys provided the document stating that his total amount was $9,000, and bookings were $2,500, and a forfeited margin and $3,500 after signing the separation agreement and release claims.
Hanleys also questioned Davis’ claims that selfies sparked allegations. “I had a client who called me and said, ‘If I took a picture, you wouldn’t charge me $10,000, right?’ Like “What? Chris Hanley said. “I mean, if you’re just taking pictures of yourself and not promoting the product, that’s great. ”
But according to Davis, the rental management company checked security footage only in the house and realized he took pictures of his own brand after his friend’s girlfriend uploaded a photo of her clothes and tagged a different clothing brand. He said the brand then reposted the content and marked the invisible home.
Davis said he respects Hanley and his “ill” home. He also questioned the exact difference between someone posting content to his personal social media account and promoting brands, saying it’s hard to know where to draw the line. “Most people now rent places where the content is,” he said, adding that he had no problem taking photos in and around other short-term rentals.
But Hanley said guests clearly stipulated rules regarding the use of their property before and after booking. They said Davis was a good example of why they charged for business activities, noting that his Tiktok account had hundreds of followers, but the post about the controversial received 1.5 million views.
“It’s impressive, he was able to bring an explosion of excitement to himself,” Roberta Hanley said.
Her husband quipped, “Maybe we should be working on invisible house sneakers.”
