@Stephanie1933 First of all, I'll say that I have had my home share closed since March 2020 due to Covid and guests sharing my kitchen. So I haven't had to deal with cancellations due to ever-changing Covid lockdowns, travel restrictions or guests testing positive and cancelling.
But as far as cancellation policies go, I have always used moderate. I chose that when I first started hosting, based on what I felt I would find reasonable to commit to if I were a guest.
I also didn't want to have to deal with irate guests who can't believe they're forfeiting 50% for cancelling under a strict policy. A lot of guests don't even read the terms of the policy they committed to, or fully understand it.
And I never wanted flexible because I don't want to spend time cleaning and preparing for a guest who cancels last minute. Where I live in the dusty, buggy tropics, the room isn't just going to stay clean for days waiting for the next guest. I would have to clean it again.
That moderate policy has worked out fine for me and here is why:
1. My guests all come here on vacation, most fly in internationally. No guest has ever driven here, even within the country, they have flown or bussed. They have booked flights, time off work, maybe some surf lessons. Therefore, they aren't apt to cancel on short notice, they have too many things in play.
2. I have one home-share room for 1 guest. So it's never been a huge money maker for me, I'm not dependent on the income. If a guest cancels 5 days before and gets a full refund, it doesn't really fuss me. I may be able to rebook the dates, I might not, either way it's not a huge deal for me.
And the reality is, in the 3 and a half years I hosted before Covid hit (and I plan to reopen hopefully in Dec.) I only once had a guest cancel after the 5 day cut-off, so I did get paid 50%, and only one other cancellation before the 5 day cut-off.
