A self-proclaimed 'Airbnb Queen' who managed other people's properties is accused of stealing from homeowners then fleeing town

• Dani Widell built a career out of flipping and renting out historic homes in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• Former clients, employees, and business partners say she misused money and treated them poorly.

Tulsa, Oklahoma real-estate investor Dani Widell, who dubbed herself the "Airbnb Queen," is being accused by former employees and clients of stealing at least $75,000 from them and mistreating them, according to court documents and a local news report.

Widell — who managed many Airbnbs on behalf of homeowners, restored historic homes to use as short-term rentals, and ran a home-staging company — now appears to have fled Tulsa, according to Fox 23, a local television station. Widell did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Brandon Neth, a local landlord who said Widell cheated him out of a $400 home-cleaning fee, told Insider that Widell was well-known within the real-estate-investor community.

"What doesn't make sense to any of us is that she had Tulsa under control," he said. "And if she would have just done things right, she would have been making so much money."

Widell's recent troubles began when Mallory Massey, who paid Widell to manage nine of her Airbnb properties, filed a lawsuit in August of 2022.

Massey said in the suit that Widell spent $25,000 in fraudulent charges related to running the Airbnb portfolio and mishandled a $40,000 investment Massey made in Widell's staging company.

Massey told Fox 23 that when she confronted Widell on the accounting "irregularities," Widell lashed out and responded "aggressively."

A separate unnamed property owner told Fox 23 that he paid Widell $11,000 to stage his rental. When he tried to cut ties with her, Widell's employees arrived at the rental and removed supplies and decor he said he owned. (Fox 23 said it reviewed video footage of the incident.)

Last week, a plaintiff named Jessica Neeley filed a small-claims suit against Widell in Tulsa County District Court seeking $3,700 in damages. (The specific claims aren't detailed in the filing.)

Widell's husband, William, who appeared to work with her on some of her real-estate businesses, filed for divorce and an emergency protection order in February. William Widell's attorney, John Campbell, told Fox 23 that the protective order was filed only after Widell had "showed up at her former home with a gun, acting erratically."

Fox also reported that former employees and clients have filed multiple police reports against Widell, alleging incidents of harassment, fraud, and burglary.

Former employees also told Fox 23 they have not been able to contact Widell since the beginning of February, when she allegedly changed the locks on her personal offices and told them she wanted to "start a new life."

Since then, seven of Widell's tenants told Fox 23 their water had been shut off and they risk losing electricity.

"Honestly, the worst thing she has done is taken away everyone's peace of mind," one tenant, Traci Nunnelly, told Fox 23.

Neth, who operates 30 rental apartments and has partnered with Massey to purchase properties in the past, said that he observed a pattern of unethical behavior in Widell.

"She was spending a huge amount of money marketing herself, so she just became the person everybody went to for any Airbnb advice," he told Insider. "She was convincing a lot of people to transfer their long-term rentals to short-term rentals. She tried to sell me on it, and I walked away just being like, 'Something's up.'"

After convincing landlords to switch to Airbnb, Neth said, she would then seek to manage their listings as a paid property manager. Neth said Widell bilked him out of $400 in October of 2021, when he paid her for a cleaning service that wasn't completed. He ended up cleaning the house himself.

Besides Massey, Neth said that he is aware of at least four other local investors and property owners who have been negatively affected by Widell. He said he believes that the total amount of money that Widell has misappropriated is much higher than the $75,000 cited in Massey's suit.

One of Widell's patterns, Neth said, was to charge clients more for a task or purchase than she said she would using an electronic bank transfer, or ACH. "How do you mistake $1,500 for $15,000 and do that as an ACH? That happened in multiple situations," Neth said.

She also managed Airbnb stays for The Outsiders House Museum, a Tulsa home where guests can stay in the bedrooms used for the 1983 film "The Outsiders," starring a young Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe, according to Fox 23.

The museum's owner told Fox 23 he had several issues working with Widell, and the property is now under new management.

Employees have also accused Widell of blatantly bullying them.

Fox 23 obtained a Ring security-camera footage from Campbell, William Widell's attorney, that shows Dani Widell intimidating two employees over a dispute about pay and threatening to get another employee's child taken away.

Widell said in the video, "I know how to use the legal system to my advantage."

Did you work with Widell and want to share your experience? Email senior reporter AJ LaTrace at alatrace@insider.com and let us know.