"There is no more business"
April 29, 2024 1:44 AM Subscribe
By all appearances, Widell certainly seemed to be thriving. She took business lunches at Mahogany Prime Steakhouse, a leading Tulsa destination. She was a member of the Summit Club — "Downtown Tulsa's Only Private Social Club" — perched atop the Bank of America Center, with its panoramic views of the Arkansas River. She hobnobbed with the local elite and claimed to have more Airbnb listings than anyone else in the city. She cut her hair short and, to her husband's annoyance, swapped out her conservative style for big sunglasses and more "flamboyant" fashions. Widell, who hadn't had much growing up, also projected an image of benevolence. She made a point of hiring people with criminal records to work in her warehouse, and she talked about buying a church that had just come on the market and turning it into a women's shelter. But then investors started asking questions. And soon enough, Widell would be turning on the very people she'd promised a second chance. from The fall of the Queen of Airbnb
Can’t read; big business insider pop up advert asking me to sign up.
posted by whatevernot at 2:23 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]
posted by whatevernot at 2:23 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]
I feel bad that the women's shelter funding got derailed and for the workers. Tulsa is mostly a great city, but the number of conventions and tournaments won't bring the AirBnb market back to PGA golf tournament-levels again.
posted by dragonplayer at 4:22 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]
posted by dragonplayer at 4:22 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]
During the encounter, which was captured by security cameras, she offered a very different spin on why she had hired so many employees with criminal records.
"I can use the legal system to my advantage," Widell crowed. "Do you know how many people work here that don't want to go back to prison or jail? Fuck all of them."
by gawd landlording tends to attract the worst people alive doesn't it
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 5:02 AM on April 29 [47 favorites]
"I can use the legal system to my advantage," Widell crowed. "Do you know how many people work here that don't want to go back to prison or jail? Fuck all of them."
by gawd landlording tends to attract the worst people alive doesn't it
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 5:02 AM on April 29 [47 favorites]
The following day, two employees doorstepped Widell at one of her properties. During the encounter, which was captured by security cameras, she offered a very different spin on why she had hired so many employees with criminal records.
"I can use the legal system to my advantage," Widell crowed. "Do you know how many people work here that don't want to go back to prison or jail? Fuck all of them."
Well, before y'all judge her harshly, "I can use the legal system to my advantage," is AirBnB's whole business model.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:03 AM on April 29 [31 favorites]
"I can use the legal system to my advantage," Widell crowed. "Do you know how many people work here that don't want to go back to prison or jail? Fuck all of them."
Well, before y'all judge her harshly, "I can use the legal system to my advantage," is AirBnB's whole business model.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:03 AM on April 29 [31 favorites]
The airbnb thing/covid boom is kind of a red herring. Widell sounds like someone who went through some mental health issues fairly late in life, and has yet to deal with it. It isn't given much detail, but it feels like a significant personality change, enough that she loses her marriage, ignores court appearances and threaten people with a gun. That she's seemingly still at large, presumably not really in any kind of hiding, is weird. Maybe that's an Oklahoma thing?
posted by 2N2222 at 5:14 AM on April 29 [9 favorites]
posted by 2N2222 at 5:14 AM on April 29 [9 favorites]
But what happened with Widell sounded an alarm. "I don't think it gives the industry a good name," Burke said. "I remember speaking with a contact at the city who said, 'You know, it's unfortunate, because sometimes there's just, like, one or two people that are ruining it for everyone else.'"
This is the kind of shit said by people as they buy into the next Elizabeth Holmes's idea of manufacturing land mines made from sustainable materials.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:28 AM on April 29 [25 favorites]
This is the kind of shit said by people as they buy into the next Elizabeth Holmes's idea of manufacturing land mines made from sustainable materials.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:28 AM on April 29 [25 favorites]
Uh... She would tell me, 'I don't need to sleep anymore. I just feel so much energy all the time. I just want to work,'"
I take it a bunch of the missing money went to some drug dealers and/or sketchy prescribing physicians, then.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:34 AM on April 29 [26 favorites]
I take it a bunch of the missing money went to some drug dealers and/or sketchy prescribing physicians, then.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:34 AM on April 29 [26 favorites]
As I read the article, I kept the fact of the lack of affordable housing in just about all metro areas in the USA at the top of my mind and Tulsa is no different.
posted by NoMich at 5:39 AM on April 29 [17 favorites]
posted by NoMich at 5:39 AM on April 29 [17 favorites]
if I were to stay at an airbandb, would the owner be in the same house? Like would it be a room in the owners house that they are renting out? Or would I be the only occupant? Maybe it varies.
posted by Czjewel at 5:57 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]
posted by Czjewel at 5:57 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]
How do you merely "harass" someone with a firearm? That is a very odd way of saying "threatened their lives."
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:00 AM on April 29 [22 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:00 AM on April 29 [22 favorites]
I don't want to diagnose someone I haven't met and I'm not a medical professional, but the "seek mental health help combined with the lack of sleep make me wonder at bipolar. I don't know whether that excuses anything.
Also airbnb seems like the perfect industry to attract people with more charisma than sense or decency. It's "what if hotels but without any safety regulations?" after all.
On preview
Czjewel, these all sound like super hosts, people who own multiple properties and make more renting them out on short term contract than longer term ones. Also, there are fewer regulations about rights, working fixtures, etc.
posted by Hactar at 6:00 AM on April 29 [10 favorites]
Also airbnb seems like the perfect industry to attract people with more charisma than sense or decency. It's "what if hotels but without any safety regulations?" after all.
On preview
Czjewel, these all sound like super hosts, people who own multiple properties and make more renting them out on short term contract than longer term ones. Also, there are fewer regulations about rights, working fixtures, etc.
posted by Hactar at 6:00 AM on April 29 [10 favorites]
if I were to stay at an airbandb, would the owner be in the same house? Like would it be a room in the owners house that they are renting out? Or would I be the only occupant? Maybe it varies.
It varies. The listing would definitely let you know
posted by NoMich at 6:27 AM on April 29 [2 favorites]
It varies. The listing would definitely let you know
posted by NoMich at 6:27 AM on April 29 [2 favorites]
As I read the article, I kept the fact of the lack of affordable housing in just about all metro areas in the USA at the top of my mind and Tulsa is no different.
This is despite the fact that part of the reason this happened is because of an environment where houses could be bought for the price of a luxury vehicle?
posted by Selena777 at 6:56 AM on April 29 [2 favorites]
This is despite the fact that part of the reason this happened is because of an environment where houses could be bought for the price of a luxury vehicle?
posted by Selena777 at 6:56 AM on April 29 [2 favorites]
How do you merely "harass" someone with a firearm?
Access to lawyers so the DA might lose a "threatened their lives." case.
People who have access to lawyers are treated different.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:57 AM on April 29 [9 favorites]
Access to lawyers so the DA might lose a "threatened their lives." case.
People who have access to lawyers are treated different.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:57 AM on April 29 [9 favorites]
"I can use the legal system to my advantage," Widell crowed.
Not limited to landlords.
posted by ashbury at 8:13 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]
Not limited to landlords.
posted by ashbury at 8:13 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]
People who have access to lawyers are treated differently
It's almost as if the typical Mefite doesn't, actually, have that access when and if needed
posted by Green-eyed grenade at 8:39 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]
It's almost as if the typical Mefite doesn't, actually, have that access when and if needed
posted by Green-eyed grenade at 8:39 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]
This is a strange person for an FPD to be married to. On average, they're some of the most conscientious (and talented) government lawyers you can find, with very liberal attitudes towards the criminal justice system.
posted by praemunire at 8:43 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 8:43 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]
“There's just a kind of an eclectic group of us all there. And we stood in the foyer of the church and she was speaking to the listening agent and it was off-the-charts, mania, she was using a lot of foul language. She was literally referring to herself as a personal savior in an Assembly of God Church to the listening agent who if my memory is right, Father was one of the founding deacons of the church,” said Wells. “Dani was just going on and on and on and on and on and it was very grandiose, speaking and very, just very manic. It was just incredibly awkward and uncomfortable.
Local article from March 2023 - I didn’t see anything more recent. At that time there were no criminal charges against her.
posted by bunderful at 9:57 AM on April 29 [7 favorites]
Local article from March 2023 - I didn’t see anything more recent. At that time there were no criminal charges against her.
posted by bunderful at 9:57 AM on April 29 [7 favorites]
As a Tulsan it’s rather nauseating that the wealthy are making piles of money off of short term rentals by taking housing options off the table for renters and hopeful first-time home owners. I live in fear that my landlord will raise my rent, and home ownership is currently impossible for me. And I’m in *good* shape compared to many.
posted by bunderful at 10:00 AM on April 29 [31 favorites]
posted by bunderful at 10:00 AM on April 29 [31 favorites]
Same ^^^. Precarity sucks.
posted by j_curiouser at 10:23 AM on April 29 [7 favorites]
posted by j_curiouser at 10:23 AM on April 29 [7 favorites]
1. Love the illustrations in this article
2. I hate AirBnB and wish them every misfortune
3. This woman sounds ill-intentioned and dangerous and I hope she doesn’t hurt anyone else, either physically with a gun or by throwing their lives into tumult via eviction etc.
4. That said it also sounds like she’s probably also in the throes of a genuine mental health crisis, so I also hope she doesn’t hurt herself. I hope she’s found and gets some help.
Ugh. What a situation.
posted by Suedeltica at 10:51 AM on April 29 [8 favorites]
2. I hate AirBnB and wish them every misfortune
3. This woman sounds ill-intentioned and dangerous and I hope she doesn’t hurt anyone else, either physically with a gun or by throwing their lives into tumult via eviction etc.
4. That said it also sounds like she’s probably also in the throes of a genuine mental health crisis, so I also hope she doesn’t hurt herself. I hope she’s found and gets some help.
Ugh. What a situation.
posted by Suedeltica at 10:51 AM on April 29 [8 favorites]
Could be coke. Could be mania. Could be meth. Could be gambling. I’m a little surprised the article doesn’t mention any digging into where the money went. This does remind me of the guy who stole hundreds of thousands from his credit union and spent them all spending 8-10 hours a day in the parking lot of a convenience store scratching lottery tickets.
posted by bq at 11:30 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]
posted by bq at 11:30 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]
That said it also sounds like she’s probably also in the throes of a genuine mental health crisis, so I also hope she doesn’t hurt herself. I hope she’s found and gets some help.
Developing bipolar later in life must be a nightmare. You have a lot more in your life to blow up. This does seem like a possibility here. On the other hand, it sounds like she started out as a house-flipper, so she didn't have far to go to start crossing lines.
posted by praemunire at 1:31 PM on April 29 [5 favorites]
Developing bipolar later in life must be a nightmare. You have a lot more in your life to blow up. This does seem like a possibility here. On the other hand, it sounds like she started out as a house-flipper, so she didn't have far to go to start crossing lines.
posted by praemunire at 1:31 PM on April 29 [5 favorites]
Investing in AirBnB properties is dumb. I’ve got all my investments in monkey NFT’s. To the moon baby!
posted by misterpatrick at 1:36 PM on April 29 [7 favorites]
posted by misterpatrick at 1:36 PM on April 29 [7 favorites]
Per a Fox affiliate, last year: Many of Widell's workers also rented properties that the Widells owned. Former employees say that their water was shut off around the time she left town because she took her card off of the accounts and the utilities were not paid. William Widell’s attorney John Campbell shared a Ring video of Widell and two of her former employees asking for their pay, as many former workers said was an ongoing problem. In the recording, Widell is heard saying she can “use the legal system to her advantage” and the employee “will lose custody of his child.” All parties were aware of the camera.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:30 PM on April 29 [2 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:30 PM on April 29 [2 favorites]
Also per Fox, and touching on possible mental health struggles:
- At the end of 2021, Dani’s employees began contacting [Bridgette Brick] Wells [Dani's friend & mentor "in the property industry" in Tulsa] with concerns about the workplace.
- In spring of 2022, Dani Widell told her husband that she was feeling depressed (he's baffled: "I couldn't figure out what she had to be depressed about because, you know, she had succeeded with everything that she had done").
- In 2022, Renee Brummett ("worked with Widell in the early days as head of housekeeping, had risen to serve as her right hand") starts fielding "alarmed calls" from investors.
- In Dec. 2022, Wells notices Dani's mania and inappropriate behavior during a business meeting and tries to talk to her; Dani responds by distancing herself.
- Late 2022/early 2023, a prospective operations manager was shown around the warehouse; to her, Dani displayed erratic behavior and "seemed preoccupied with renewing her vows with her husband."
On Feb. 3, 2023, Will filed for divorce.
On Feb. 15, 2023: "William Widell and Renee Brummett, a former employee of Widell's, filed a protective order against Dani when she reportedly showed up at their apartment building, 'yelling, banging on doors and had a gun in hand.' On March 15, Dani showed up at the apartment complex where William and Brummett live and violated the protective orders. She was arrested and booked into Mayes County Jail because she is Native American." Fox links to the protective orders filed by Will's attorney, John Campbell.
Fox coverage absolves William of business irregularities: although "Court documents show William Widell owns 51% of Widell Staging LLC, Widell Holdings LLC, Widell Renovations LLC, Widell Management LLC and Widell Housekeeping LLC and Dani owns 49%[...] Dozens of former employees who spoke with FOX23 believe William had no idea how Dani had been running her businesses. He said he did not know that she ran a staging business or had a warehouse until Dec. 2022." Moreover, "William hired Wells to get more information about the financial loss. Wells reported that all of Dani's workers were 1099 employees or independent contractors. This makes it difficult to track the pay that many employees say they never received. Wells also believes the business itself is tens of thousands of dollars in debt." (By mid-July 2023, when Fox updated its article, William was trying to unsnarl the financial tangles; civil suits had been filed, but no criminal charges had been filed, against Dani Widell.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:44 PM on April 29 [3 favorites]
- At the end of 2021, Dani’s employees began contacting [Bridgette Brick] Wells [Dani's friend & mentor "in the property industry" in Tulsa] with concerns about the workplace.
- In spring of 2022, Dani Widell told her husband that she was feeling depressed (he's baffled: "I couldn't figure out what she had to be depressed about because, you know, she had succeeded with everything that she had done").
- In 2022, Renee Brummett ("worked with Widell in the early days as head of housekeeping, had risen to serve as her right hand") starts fielding "alarmed calls" from investors.
- In Dec. 2022, Wells notices Dani's mania and inappropriate behavior during a business meeting and tries to talk to her; Dani responds by distancing herself.
- Late 2022/early 2023, a prospective operations manager was shown around the warehouse; to her, Dani displayed erratic behavior and "seemed preoccupied with renewing her vows with her husband."
On Feb. 3, 2023, Will filed for divorce.
On Feb. 15, 2023: "William Widell and Renee Brummett, a former employee of Widell's, filed a protective order against Dani when she reportedly showed up at their apartment building, 'yelling, banging on doors and had a gun in hand.' On March 15, Dani showed up at the apartment complex where William and Brummett live and violated the protective orders. She was arrested and booked into Mayes County Jail because she is Native American." Fox links to the protective orders filed by Will's attorney, John Campbell.
Fox coverage absolves William of business irregularities: although "Court documents show William Widell owns 51% of Widell Staging LLC, Widell Holdings LLC, Widell Renovations LLC, Widell Management LLC and Widell Housekeeping LLC and Dani owns 49%[...] Dozens of former employees who spoke with FOX23 believe William had no idea how Dani had been running her businesses. He said he did not know that she ran a staging business or had a warehouse until Dec. 2022." Moreover, "William hired Wells to get more information about the financial loss. Wells reported that all of Dani's workers were 1099 employees or independent contractors. This makes it difficult to track the pay that many employees say they never received. Wells also believes the business itself is tens of thousands of dollars in debt." (By mid-July 2023, when Fox updated its article, William was trying to unsnarl the financial tangles; civil suits had been filed, but no criminal charges had been filed, against Dani Widell.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:44 PM on April 29 [3 favorites]
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